Poor Twisted Me
by Ozzy Anmudis
Summary: This story is finsihed. Thanks to all my readers out there.
1. Prologue

Poor Twisted Me- Prologue  
  
Hi, Mud here. Okay, before I start, let me clear up a couple things.  
  
-Seeing as there are almost 2000 fics for Teen Titans, my story is almost  
bound to sound like at least one of them. As I was writing this, I  
thought it sounded slightly like 'Maturity' by Invader Sam. That does not  
mean I am copying her or anybody. If you find something that sounds  
unoriginal, don't point the finger and report me, because I have not  
intentionally stolen someone's idea.  
-Most writers/readers have that one pairing they love and that one they  
can't stand. The pairings here are RobStar, BBRaven, and CyborgOC. If you  
are a RobRav fan or whatever, don't read the story and flame me for not  
having your particular pairing.  
-There is a very fine line between flaming and constructive criticism. I  
will put an example of what I will accept and what I won't:  
ACCEPT: I hated it. Next time, put Character X in more and have him do  
more things like insert random act. Also, Character Y was OOC. Put more  
effort into it.  
NOT ACCEPT: I hated it. If you update I will hunt you down and slit your  
throat you asshole. (I have seen someone say this before)  
-To answer a question I don't want to have to answer, there will be no  
lemons in this story. I'm thirteen years old! I may use curse words  
incessantly, but I'm not going to write a lemon at thirteen freaking  
years old! Unless someone wants to write one for me, which is not very  
likely, don't be expecting any on here.  
  
Okay? Now that that's all cleared up, on with the story. By the way, this story is loaded to the brim with Metallica references. See if you can find them all...I got twenty bucks saying no one can find them all.  
  
Also, Terra haters back me up here; Terra will betray the Titans for Slade. The next freaking episode is called "Betrayal", for crying out loud! So, when Beast Boy's flashback comes around, it might be a little confusing for non-Terra haters.  
  
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The cloaked figure walked through the pounding rain. The nighttime darkness enveloped him, and his black cloak made him all the more unnoticeable. He stopped abruptly, about six feet from a peculiar shaped stone, the kind that most people will spare a passing glance to but never pay any thought about it. Holding out his right hand, the figure began chanting.  
  
"Blood for face, sweat for dirt, three X's for the stone. Shell of shotgun, pint of gin, numb us to shield the pins," he intoned. A strong gale came bursting, making the trees around him twist and bend about. The stone began to glow blood red, and white light began to outline an indistinguishable shape.  
  
"Hit dirt, shake tree, split sky, part sea," he continued. The white light shined immeasurably brighter, shedding light onto the figure's shadowed silhouette. The pallid luminosity ceased outlining whatever the figure was, now completed.  
  
"Off the veil, stand revealed, bring it on, break the seal!" he yelled, finishing the chant. With that, an explosion of great proportions shook the earth, and the resulting blast knocked the mysterious figure back a good couple hundred feet. Taking a couple seconds to get up, he regained his footing and looked on, waiting for the smoke to clear. When at last it did, the figure smiled as he gazed upon his creation.  
  
Amidst the rubble and lingering fumes stood a small man, probably no taller than five feet. He was immensely muscle-bound; at first glance, most people would guess he was on steroids. His biceps were about the size of two basketballs, and his leg muscles were about the size of a baby elephant's. To add to his intimidating aura, thick veins coursed through his entire body, making him daunting to no end. He had an extremely long beard, which looked very...unique. It was very long, coming down to just above his belly button, and was striped red and black. It was if he had taken a raccoon's tail and super glued it onto his chin (A/N: To any Anthrax fans, think of their guitarist's beard, I think his name is Scott something).  
  
The cloaked figure smirked under his hood. He began walking over to his creation, when all of a sudden, the bearded man was at his throat in an instant. The cloaked figure gasped for breath as his lungs screamed for oxygen. The bearded man squeezed harder, and laughed evilly.  
  
"I suppose you were expecting me to thank you for releasing me," he said, and laughed again. "Ha! Lyrim thanks no one!"  
  
The cloaked figure struggled against the iron grip, and managed to squeeze out the words, "Azareth..." The grip tightened harder, making him struggle harder.  
  
"Izevm...Destino!" Upon finishing his words, a large boulder, obscurely off to the side, was engulfed in a black aura. Unbeknownst to his attacker, the boulder began levitating, and flew through the air with frightening speed. Hitting Lyrim square in the back, the short man released his summoner, allowing a much-needed intake of air.  
  
Lyrim growled, and charged with such swiftness at his attackee that most people would have seen only a blur. His victim lacked the reflexes to dodge such a rapid assault, and thus when Lyrim made contact with the poor man, he was sent flying through the air. He crashed into a tree with such force that the tree cracked at its base and fell over, causing a domino effect, with several other trees falling over within the forest.  
  
"What have I done..." was his final thought as the last shards of consciousness fell from his grasp.  
  
Lyrim laughed at his poor summoner's misfortune. He then held out both his hands, which began glowing black. In a raspy and inarticulate voice, he yelled out, "Come, Fenrir!"  
  
Mere seconds after saying this, a slight tremor erupted, making the already bent trees sway even further. A large, blood red portal formed in the ground a couple feet beside Lyrim, gaining size as it did so. A creature's silhouette slowly rose from the gateway, and upon finally entering his summoner's realm, roared a blood-curdling roar.  
  
It was about the size of a wolf, maybe a bit bigger, and knelt on all fours. It looked very canine in appearance, like a mutilated pit bull, for lack of a better analogy. Its head took up probably half of its total size, and was elongated in a way reminiscent of an alligator's. It teeth were freakishly huge, with the bottom pair of front fangs extending well beyond the top of his head, with the rest of the teeth just as long. It had six eyes, three on each side of its head. They were very small, each one probably no larger than a grape. It had gray, reptilian skin that hung loosely in folds around his body, as if his skin was too big for him. Grappling the loose dirt with its sharp and ridiculously long claws, it barked at its summoner. (For those of you who saw Hellboy, Fenrir is sort of like that hound of resurrection thing.)  
  
"Good to see you again as well, Fenrir," Lyrim said in his grisly voice. Extending his hands out yet again, they glowed black, and a large tower of fire materialized from the sky, as if it was summoned from the heavens themselves. He began moving his hands and the tower of inferno moved like a puppet in coordination with his hands. From a bird's eye view, the flames could be seen spelling out five letters: L-Y-R-I-M.  
  
The trees crackled and blazed as the fire burned on. Lyrim smiled at the chaos he had created, and began walking off. Fenrir let his tongue dangle and ran alongside his master as the forest continued to burn.  
  
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It had been three years since the Teen Titans had originally formed, and the team had undergone many physical and emotional changes. They were all 18 now, with the exception of Cyborg, who was 19. About two years ago, Slade had decided to hang up the mask and retire. The H.I.V.E was still around, but they hardly ever attacked anymore, making Jump City perfectly serene, to the point of being almost boring.  
  
Robin, with Slade now out of the picture, had finally taken the time to realize what was important in his life. And it was only then that he realized something. He was deeply in love with Starfire. Sure, they had danced after Kitten got arrested, and there was that time Blackfire came. But he never realized, up until now, how much affection he felt for the beautiful Tamaran. And it drove him nuts. On the outside, he had finally gotten rid of his skinny frame, which was instead replaced by a muscular one. His voice had at last deepened, and he now sounded like a true leader.  
  
Starfire was still the bouncing ball of joy she always was. Although still happy and blissful, she had still not fully learned the human ways. Granted, she knows a lot more than she did before, but there are still a couple gray areas. She had grown much, in more places than one. Which, over the course of three years, had many a time aroused the interest of a certain masked Titan. She, like Robin over her, desired for the leader of the Titans. She had known it ever since Blackfire came, but had never been able to confess it. One time, she had gone to Raven with her problem, but it didn't help much.  
  
Flashback:  
  
Starfire nervously knocked on Raven's door. After a couple taps, the metal door slid open, and Raven's hooded face peeked through. "What do you want?" she asked monotonously.  
  
Starfire anxiously played with her hands. "Umm, I have a problem, Raven, that I require assistance with."  
  
Raven paused for a minute. "Fine, come in."  
  
Star walked in, and shivered at Raven's domestic surroundings. Shit, it was creepy. Raven sat down on her bed and asked, "What's your problem?"  
  
Starfire blushed a little before moving on. "See, it has to do with Robin. I..."  
  
Raven held out her hand. "Say no more. I know what you want," she said before pressing on. "You like Robin, yet you can't express your feelings, for fear of rejection. Am I right?"  
  
Starfire nodded. "Yes, what shall I do?"  
  
Raven sighed and pulled down her hood, revealing her pale yet beautiful face. "Just tell him how you feel. I know it's hard, but you'll never feel better until you get this thing off your chest."  
  
"Ah! What is on my chest!?" Starfire yelled, panic-stricken. Raven rolled her eyes and said, "It's an expression, Star."  
  
Starfire blushed. "My apologies. So, what you are telling me is that I should just tell Robin how I feel?"  
  
Raven nodded. Starfire took a deep breath and said, "Okay! I will!"  
  
Raven watched as Starfire walked up to Robin. "Robin?" the Tamaran asked. The masked leader turned around. "Yeah Star?"  
  
Starfire suddenly lost her nerve. "Umm, uh, I..."  
  
Robin looked concerned. "What is it, Star?"  
  
Starfire began blushing intensely. "Umm, I...what is for dinner?" she said, now both sweating and flushing profoundly. Robin looked at her quizzically, and said, "Whatever's in the fridge, I guess. I hadn't really planned anything special."  
  
Raven sighed. This was so typical of Star.  
  
End Flashback  
  
The dark girl was right in what she said. From then on, Starfire's unrequited love haunted her to no end.  
  
Beast Boy had most likely changed the most out of the five. After three years of booster seat and midget jokes from both Cyborg and Robin, although most often from the former, he had gone through his much desired growth spurt. At last he could stand eye-to-eye with Raven, whose height had always surpassed him. He, although not to the extent of Robin, had gained some muscle, also ridding him of his skinny frame. The second biggest change of all was that his obsession with video games had begun to ebb away. Now, three years, later, he had drifted away completely, much to Cyborg's disdain. For some odd reason, music was now the hobby that took its stead. About a year ago, he had purchased a guitar with the money that he had accumulated from various grateful citizens. He was actually very musically inclined, much to the surprise of his fellow Titans, and had taught himself much since the day he bought it. He had also recently taken up Kerry King and Kirk Hammet as his guitar idols, and thus his room became littered with random Metallica and Slayer posters.  
  
His greatest change, however, was the one he kept the most under wraps. Day and night it plagued him, but could do nothing about it- his clandestine love for Raven. (Clandestine means secret). When he thought about, it shouldn't be, for he and Raven were polar opposites in virtually every aspect. And yet, he still withheld his fiery passion for the Azareth, even if it was inexorably surreptitious. (Surreptitious means secret too. Sorry, I just like using big words). It all began about two and a half years ago, when Terra had betrayed the Titans to Slade. As a result, his entire world was in shambles.  
  
Flashback (again):  
  
Beast Boy furiously pummeled away at his flayed pillow. Over and over again, the same moments played through his mind as tears streamed down his face. Terra...how could she?  
  
'You stupid ass!' he mentally abused himself. 'You stupid fucking...how could you? How could she?'  
  
He continued battering both his pillow and himself, until a knock on his door stopped his self-blaspheming. He buried his face in his now torn pillow and yelled, "Go away!", expecting it to be Robin or Cyborg. The last thing he needed was sympathy from someone who had no idea of the magnitude in which he was marred.  
  
Despite Beast Boy's tearful admonition, the door slid open, and surprisingly, Raven walked in. Beast Boy looked up from his pillow, his eyes claret from his poignant crying. The Azareth walked over, sat down next to him, and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.  
  
"We all need a shoulder to cry on sometimes, BB. If it makes you feel better, I can be that shoulder."  
  
Many things about what she just did surprised Beast Boy. First of all, she had called him BB, something that she had never done. Secondly, just the fact that she was here in the first place surprised him.  
  
Beast Boy let his tears flow freely down his face. "Raven, why..."  
  
Raven looked at him straight in the eyes before he could finish his question. "Because I care about you, Beast Boy! It tears me apart to see you like this! I know I never show it, but I genuinely, sincerely care for you!"  
  
Beast Boy smiled weakly. He hesitated for a second or two, but then threw his arms around Raven in a tight embrace, and resumed his weeping on her shoulder. Raven was slightly taken aback, although in a good way. She gently stroked Beast Boy's green hair, not caring that his tears were soaking her cape.  
  
End Flashback  
  
As he cried onto her shoulder that fateful day, he realized that he did indeed love Raven. And although each day he found different excuses, like 'love is such a strong word' or 'we're just friends', with each passing explanation, he only sighed at the futility of it all. He loved Raven, end of story.  
  
Numerous changes had gone on in Raven's little mirror during those fateful three years that had passed. However, her proficient means of concealing every shred of feeling prevented her friends from noticing her great emotional changes. She had managed to hold greater hegemony on her emotions, except for two. Frustration (I don't know if she has that one, so for the purposes of this story she does. I just didn't want to use Rage)- and a new, brick red emotion. Lately, everything Beast Boy did- only him, not Cyborg or Robin or Starfire- somehow managed to grind her nerves until she ran into her room and attempted to find her center. It was always then that her new emotion took over. Her meditation was now constantly interrupted by images of Beast Boy without fail. It usually began with aggravated bemoaning about how annoying he was and the like. Then, everyday, she realized one thing (Come on, you should have been able to guess it by now)-how much affection she housed for the little shape shifter. No matter how much she tried to deny it, no matter how much she didn't want to believe it, it was there, plain and simple. But her cursed emotions prevented her from doing anything about it. She could barely think about him without something exploding, let alone have a relationship with him. At least that's what she told herself. But that nagging voice in the back of her head, the one that we all have, always told her what she didn't want to hear: the truth. And thus, her emotional torture continues.  
  
Cyborg had most likely changed the least of the team. Seeing as he was half- robot, there was not much room for biological growth, so he had changed either very little or not at all on the outside. His emotions had not changed much either. The main distinction now was his new hobby. As Beast Boy began drifting away from video games, Cyborg decided to find a new hobby. Cars were too time-consuming, and working out was only fun for a while. It was then, at what seemed like the quintessence of boredom, that he discovered his newest passion: skateboarding (I know, Cyborg would probably never pick up a board, but give me a break, I had to give him something I was familiar in).  
  
As romantic tensions began to break out in Titans Tower, Cyborg, who had no one, often went to the skate park to escape the constant flirting going on between either Robin and Starfire or Raven and Beast Boy. Which really annoyed him. So, the skate park had become his unofficial sanctuary, which nowadays he made a daily pilgrimage to.  
  
The stage is set. This is their story. 


	2. Diary of a Madman

Poor Twisted Me Chapter 1  
  
Hi, Mud again. Holy crap! 11 reviews! I'm used to, at most, three a chapter. Anyways, to everyone, Cyborg's going to meet his future girlfriend in this, because just about everyone seems to feel sorry for him. Anyway, time to answer some reviews.  
  
Mya Dawning- Thanks! I always had a passion for writing, even when I was like 8 years old. 'Course, you can't write too well at that age, but I still got a lot of experience from that. Thanks for the review!  
  
ScarletAngel68- Yeah, I have those references hidden all over the place. Once the story's finished, I'll put them all down, but not until then. I'm so evil, aren't I?  
  
HyDrOmAtIc- Thank you too! I wanted Slade to be retired, cause I don't really like him, so I decided to have it take place in the future. Glad you think that way about it!  
  
Sanity-Stealing-Lawn-Gnome- I love your name! I have gnomes too, but they steal my boxers instead of my sanity, and every December they take a break and go help Santa at the North Pole ^_^  
  
Eyes of Nevermore- Intriguing penname. Yeah, I like big words too. TERRA MUST DIE!!! Thank you for reminding me of that ^_^ Thanks for reviewing!  
  
StarfireRobin4ever- Yeah, I love Robin/Starfire too, even if BBRaven is my favorite. Hopefully there will be a lot of Robin/Starfire fluff in chapters to come. Yay!  
  
Kestrel- Thank you! BBRaven forever!  
  
VanillaSuga- OH MY GOD!! You are my writing idol!! And I felt really guilty about that review, and now I feel kind of stupid, seeing as it was the beginning. But I'm elated you were so benevolent as to grace me with your presence.  
  
warprince2000- Thanks! I will update soon. (I am now, aren't I?)  
  
shadowcat0304- Wow, I'm flattered. That's an excellent phrase, "wondrous toils of writing". Except you misspelled 'descriptive', so I will completely discredit your opinion. Kidding! I've never read your stories, so I wouldn't know how I compare...  
  
Celeste- Thank you, and your vocabulary's not too bad itself. I loved that last line too, but it was a pain in the ass coming up with it. When I finally got it, it was one of those "Eureka!" moments. Ever have those? Anyways, your pretty sharp yourself, not to mention you used the word 'subliminal'. I can barely spell it ^_^  
  
Anyways, on with the chapter. Enjoi.  
  
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Cyborg pulled into the Axis parking lot and hoped out of the T-Car. He whistled happily as he pulled his Black Label board out of the trunk, taking careful notice not to dent the car. He spotted his two friends Noah and James, already riding around.  
  
"You didn't start without me now, did ya?" Cyborg yelled out as he strolled over to his companions. Noah hopped off his board, walked over to Cyborg, and lapped him a hi-five. James turned his head and unknowingly crashed into the fence.  
  
"Nice," Cyborg joked. James dusted himself off and said, "Shut up."  
  
Noah gestured over to the ramps and rails that lat before them. "We were about to play H-O-R-S-E, you wanna join?"  
  
Cyborg nodded. "Hell yeah!" the half-robot said. Hopping onto his board, he maneuvered his way through until reaching a rail. He ollied onto the rail, did a stall, and then did a kickflip as he pushed himself off. James whistled. "Not bad."  
  
Noah pushed off, picking up a lot of speed, and steered towards a ramp. As he flew off the gradient, he kicked his foot, sending the board spinning vertically. He almost landed it, but as he landed the shock caused him to lose his balance, and he stumbled off his board.  
  
"H!" Cyborg yelled in jest. Noah stuck out his tongue and blew a raspberry. Boys will be boys.  
  
"Can I join you?" an accented voice from behind Cyborg asked. They all turned around, and then looked with surprise at this newcomer.  
  
Standing there was a relatively young girl, probably the same age as Cyborg. She was very beautiful, or at least Cyborg thought so, and judging by the color of her skin, was Hispanic in descent. The girl had wavy black hair that extended to just below her shoulders and gorgeous brown eyes. She had a smile that radiated splendor, like nothing Cyborg had ever seen. She was dressed in all black, and she wore a silver bracelet on her left hand that was almost as dazzling as herself.  
  
"Sure you can skate with that leg, hun?" James asked nonchalantly. Cyborg peeled his eyes off the girls radiating beauty to see what he meant. Cyborg was truly shocked when he saw that her right leg was robotic. Realizing James's intention, he punched him on the shoulder and gestured to his own mechanized leg.  
  
The girl frowned at this tactless query. Hopping onto her own board, she said, "Watch me."  
  
The three boys watched as she gained speed, her hair flying in the wind as she sped along. Coming to a rail, she ollied onto it and grinded the whole portion of it. As she came to the conclusion of the rail, she ollied off and kicked her foot off to the side, making the board gyrate as she was temporarily airborne. The board stopped spinning as she neared the ground, and she rolled off as she made perfect contact with the soil.  
  
"Dude, you just got shown up by a chick!" Noah teased. Cyborg rolled his eyes at his immature comment. The girl picked up her board, and walked over. "Name's Carmen."  
  
"Noah."  
  
"James."  
  
"Cy-Cyb-Cyborg."  
  
Carmen winked at the half robot, causing him to blush furiously. Noah and James grinned at each other, no stranger to this kind of thing.  
  
"You wanna play H-O-R-S-E with us?" Noah asked. Carmen nodded. After about another half-hour of skateboarding, Carmen won, having gotten but a single letter. Cyborg and the others were just amazed.  
  
"We're gonna go. Later Cy, later Carmen." Noah yelled as he climbed into the driver's seat of his Audi. James hopped into the passenger side and called out, "See ya!"  
  
Cyborg grinned as they sped off. A minute passed before he found himself covetously staring at Carmen again.  
  
"Oh my god, you are hot," Cyborg said, unaware he had actually said that. Carmen blushed and said, "You're not too bad yourself, Cyborg."  
  
The half-robot flushed intensely, then realizing he had said it out loud. "Heh, heh, thanks."  
  
It was there, outside the Axis skate park that Cyborg's primal instincts took over. Before his common sense could kick in, he found himself pressing his lips against hers. Carmen was slightly taken aback, but closed her eyes as she kissed him back passionately. Cyborg snaked his arms around her back and embraced her as the two continued their corporeal enjoyment.  
  
'Holy shit, am I lucky or what?' Cyborg thought to himself. This was going to be a very, very good day.  
  
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"Azareth Metrion Zinthos, Azareth Metrion..." Raven chanted quietly under her breath. As usual, Beast Boy had aroused her frustration, this time over too many prosaic jokes. A soft knock on her door interrupted her rumination, and Beast Boy's voice called out, "Umm, Raven? I just wanted to..." he paused, as if endeavoring with his words.  
  
"What do you want this time?" Raven yelled, a slight tone of anger in her voice. Beast Boy gulped and said, "I'm sorry, okay? I know I went too far, and I'm sorry."  
  
Raven was astounded by his apology. It was never like him to apologize, especially in such a short time frame. She contemplated for a minute and walked over to her door. Nudging it open ever so slightly, she peeked her face through. "What did you say?"  
  
Beast Boy wasn't sure whether she was gloating or didn't hear him. Hoping it was the latter, he looked at the ground and said, "I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?"  
  
Raven smiled faintly under her hood. "Look me in the eyes and say it."  
  
'Okay, she's definitely gloating,' Beast Boy thought to himself. Part of his mind told him to forget it, but the more powerful half forced him to swallow his pride. Bringing his fixation from the floor upwards into Raven's eyes, he managed to squeeze out, "I'm...sorry...Raven."  
  
Although Beast Boy couldn't see it, Raven smiled even wider under her hood. She knew it wasn't like her to do this, but for some strange reason, she always felt...different around the little changeling. Before she knew what she was saying, she was asking him, "You want to come in?"  
  
Beast Boy was unaware if this was good or bad. He decided to take his chances and comply. "Umm, sure."  
  
'Holy crap, did I just invite him into my room?' Raven thought to herself as she walked back into the decorum of her room. Beast Boy cautiously tiptoed in, making sure to duck and roll at any possible threat. As his nerves calmed, he slowly took in his surroundings. To his surprise, nothing had changed much over the course of three years. Of course, he had only been in here once, but it wasn't exactly something to forget.  
  
Raven soon found herself staring pensively at the jumpy Beast Boy.  
  
'Wow...look at those abs..." she said to herself. 'Holy shit! What the hell is wrong with me!? I can't be thinking things like that!'  
  
'Oh, but you know you want to,' the voice in the back of her head told her. Raven's struggle within was interposed by Beast Boy's confused stare.  
  
"Uh, you okay, Rae?" Beast Boy asked. Raven snapped out of her trance. "Yes! I'm fine."  
  
Beast Boy swallowed and sighed. It was now or never. "Raven...I have something to tell you..."  
  
Raven looked at him inquisitively. "Something...the matter?"  
  
Color began flooding to Beast Boy's face. "Yeah. Raven, I...lo...lo..." he began stuttering wildly, choking on the word 'love'.  
  
Raven was about to ask him something, when a loud, prompt tap on her door grabbed her attention. She walked over to the steel door and nudged it open ever so slightly, like she always did. Starfire was standing in the doorway, a huge grin plastered on her face, eyes looking like upside-down U's and everything.  
  
Raven sighed. This couldn't be good.  
  
"What do you want?" she asked dully. Starfire continued grinning and cheerfully said, "There is a new zoo opening in Jump City, and I thought we could all go!"  
  
Pause. "No."  
  
SLAM! Raven closed her door with a little unnecessary force. Starfire slumped at her failed attempt to socialize with Raven, and walked off dejectedly.  
  
"Hey! I want to go to the zoo!" Beast Boy protested, forgetting his prospect of confessing to Raven. The pacifist groaned, knowing very well how this conversation was going to turn out.  
  
"Alright, fine. But no stupid jokes whatsoever," Raven said. Beast Boy lit up at the thought of spending time with Raven that didn't involve pain or fighting.  
  
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Starfire slumped on the couch sadly. Robin, who had been flipping through the channels, saw her melancholy demeanor and knew what had happened. "Raven say no?" he asked casually.  
  
Starfire nodded, slightly frustrated at his cavalier mood. "Yes! Why must it be that every time I try to do something nice for her she throws it back at me?"  
  
Robin scooted a little closer to her. "That's just the way she is. I guess she would hang out with you more, but that whole 'I can't feel emotions' thing gets in the way," he said comfortingly. He placed a consoling hand on her shoulder and hugged her slightly. Starfire blushed at his touch and managed to say, "Yes...Raven's emotional problem is most unfortunate."  
  
"What about my emotional problem?" a familiar voice rang out from behind them. Robin and Star turned around and saw Raven standing in the hallway, with Beast Boy, a couple feet behind her, covetously looking at the Azareth. Starfire's gloomy mood evaporated instantaneously. "Raven! You have decided to accompany us to the zoo!"  
  
"Don't get used to it," Raven said under her hood. Although apparent to no one, Raven was smiling under her hood.  
  
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"I call shotgun!" Beast Boy yelled as Robin approached the door to the garage. Robin shook his head. "No need, Beast Boy. The zoo's only a couple blocks from here, so we can walk."  
  
"Awww!" was the immediate response from the green shape shifter. Raven rolled her eyes at his languor.  
  
After about fifteen minutes of walking and incessant complaining from Beast Boy, they reached the zoo. Seeing as they were the Teen Titans, they didn't have to pay. Which was a nice little perk to being a superhero.  
  
The first thing they came to was the gorilla exhibit. Starfire let out and "Eep!" and ran over to the glass barrier cutting the gorillas off from civilization, her three friends running behind her to keep up.  
  
"Beast Boy, he looks like you!" she said comically. Beast Boy groaned at the sheer risibility of her statement. She curiously looked at a male silverback, which stopped eating his carrot to look at her. The Tamaran waved joyously, to which was responded by a loud roar and pounding of fists against chest. Starfire yelped and jumped into Robin's arms out of fear. The masked leader stumbled under the unexpected load, but didn't lose his balance.  
  
Beast Boy laughed. Walking over to the angered gorilla, he began making sinuous gestures with his hands, as if speaking in some form of sign language. The other Titans looked quizzically at each other, not knowing what to make of the situation. The chagrined ape made similar, just as unstilted, hand movements in response.  
  
"Now I've seen everything," Robin said. The gorilla slowly shuffled away, and Beast Boy wore a proud look on his face upon exiting his chat with the silverback.  
  
"Mind telling us what that was about?" Raven asked monotonously. Starfire, who had just realized she was still in Robin's arms, jumped out, discomfited. Beast Boy grinned wider and said, "Gorillas have their own form of hand dialogue, much like sign language. To a male silverback, waving is a form of insult."  
  
Beast Boy may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but he sure knew zoology.  
  
"...Interesting," Robin said.  
  
All of a sudden, panicked screaming broke out nearby, and a horrified mob of people began running all over. When Robin looked to see what was wrong, he growled.  
  
"Titans, GO!"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
-A few minutes earlier-  
  
Lyrim, cloaked from all forms of human perception, strolled down the road of the zoo, with Fenrir at his side. He studied the eclectic crowd of civilians, and sighed.  
  
"Look at them all, Fenrir. Their lives are full of grief and suffering, bound to this plane by their own misery. I think we should release them of their pain, don't you?"  
  
Fenrir growled in agreement. Lyrim took notice and laughed at the prospect of 'liberating anguished souls'.  
  
He looked all around for a useful subject, and settled on the Komodo dragon exhibit. He grinned, and with but a thought in his mind he used his powers to take over the mind of the dragon. Controlling it mentally, he forced it to tear open the fence with its satirical claws. It took the crowd about half a second to realize it had escaped. Once they did, they ran like hell all over the place. Picking out the nearest poor soul, the dragon, or rather its body controlled by Lyrim, pounced on the unfortunate passer-by, whom happened to be an elderly man.  
  
The old man yelled weakly, nearly having a stroke, and struggled under the substantial weight of the lizard. As he was about to sink its razor-sharp fangs into the poor twisted man, a peculiar green colored bolt knocked it off the old man. Lyrim turned his head and saw four young "heroes" aiding his would-be victim. One, who appeared to be the leader, helped the man up and withdrew a metal staff. With a press of a button, it extended to more than thrice its size. Lyrim raised and eyebrow, commiserating his bondage to technology.  
  
As he studied his obstructers, he took careful notice to remember them. The one who had "saved" the old man was a Tamaran, a race he had fleeting comprehension of. This one must have been of royal blood, as she could wield starbolts. She was very pretty, and her brilliant green eyes and orange skin would be easy for Lyrim to remember.  
  
As the Komodo dragon regained its balance, Lyrim decided to let go of its mind and scrutinize these youths instead. A moderately small, green human changed into a giant snake, and began to wrap itself around the dragon. Lyrim took careful notice of his proclivity of animals.  
  
As he averted his concentration to the final subject, he noticed that it was an Azareth. He knew the Azareth ways well, having lived there for a period of time. Those days were the bane of his memories. Evidently, his ideology on "freeing people from their pain" was not well noted on Azareth. Thus, he spent his days there out in hiding, before he was able to leave that futile place. This Azareth was a female, with lavender hair and eyes to match. She mumbled a few words, and the dragon became enshrouded in a black aura. Lyrim observed sanctimoniously as she worked with the green one to restore the dragon back to its original place, sealing the broken ingress.  
  
He got an idea. He knelt down to Fenrir, and began whispering in his ear. "Fenrir, I have a job for you. I want you to..." he whispered more, so that not even the narrator of this story could hear what he said. Fenrir roared in accordance and began racing off to the place of their dwelling, a.k.a. Titans Tower.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"You have to introduce me to your friends some time, Cyborg," Carmen said as she walked Cyborg to his car. Cyborg nodded and replied, "I'll be sure to. Say, where did you get that bracelet?" he asked, nudging to the bangle situated on her wrist.  
  
Carmen's smiled lessened, and she began explaining, "Oh, I got this from my parents. See, my parents died when I was only a little girl living in Costa Rica. Back then; we lived in a rain forest type place, so there were a lot of leopards and things like that. When I was 13, I accidentally left a window open, and a leopard snuck in at the middle of the night," she said, pausing from the lump of unshed tears in her throat. Cyborg put his arm around her tenderly.  
  
"I'm okay...anyway, the leopard got to my room first, and it attacked me in my sleep. I got badly hurt, so my leg had to be amputated..." she continued, pointing to her artificial leg. "...But my parents stopped it from killing me. I was practically unconscious from the pain, so I don't recall much about that night. But the next morning, I remember waking up and seeing my parent's bodies on the floor, next to the leopard's. How they managed to kill it, I don't know, but..." she paused, tears slowly sliding down her face.  
  
Cyborg made an empathetic sound, and hugged her tightly. Carmen sniffled, and wiped her face with her sleeve. "Thanks...so when I found them, my mom had a bracelet on. So I took it, being the only thing to remember her by. The Child Protection Agency caught wind of my parent's death, so I ended up being shuttled back and forth between different foster homes. After a while I got fed up with it, and once I was 18 I legally emancipated myself."  
  
Cyborg continued embracing her. "Oh my God...I'm so sorry."  
  
Carmen softly touched his face, and said, "Don't be...it's not your fault."  
  
Cyborg walked her back to his car. "You want a ride?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Okay! First chapter done! Oooh, what is Fenrir going to do? All I'm going to say is that it's going to be funnier then the omniscience makes it out to be. Well, it'll be funny to everyone except Raven. Oops, said too much. Anyways, this is Mud signing out. 


	3. My Sweet Demoness Part 1

Poor Twisted Me Chapter 2  
  
Hi guys. I meant for this chapter to be a little funny, but lately I've been feeling really depressed, so that might not work out as well as I planned it. Don't ask me why I'm depressed. All I'm going to say is that for readers of Castle in the Sky's "Satan's Child", read my review for her 8th chapter. That will explain it a little bit.  
  
On a lighter note, this chapter is dedicated to StarfireRobin4ever. I threw in a bunch of RobStar fluff just for you. Well, for everybody, but mostly for you.  
  
Also, Raven doesn't have Rage when her emotions are let loose, because if there was, everything would be destroyed. And that would be bad, since there would be nothing to write about.  
  
Maybe answering reviews will cheer me up.  
  
To WeasleyGirl-Yeah, Demon gal, moezy-chan, lizzy0888, and rebekah- Sorry, I read your reviews for the prologue after I updated for chapter 1, so I couldn't answer your reviews then. Well, thanks a bunch for reviewing.  
  
Warprince2000- Thanks, I guess. I will try to update ASAP, but school's been a bitch lately.  
  
Kestrel- Thanks to you too. Sorry for not putting more enthusiasm into my answers, but it's hard to feel happy right now.  
  
Moezy-chan- Thanks, I guess.  
  
StarfireRobin4ever- Thanks to you too. Star and Rob do make an awesome couple.  
  
Celeste- Thanks for reviewing. To answer your question about Buddhism, it's not hard at all to be Buddhist. Basically, all you need to do is believe Buddha's teachings. Of course, that's lay-Buddhism. If you're more devout, then you need the right effort (meditation), among other things. And to answer your question about Linkin Park, I don't really like them. Being a metal purist, I strongly believe rap and metal should not mix. So, Linkin Park is often the object of my ire, seeing as they rap over rock riffs. It pisses me off.  
  
Bunny133- Thanks, I will update as quick as I can.  
  
PrincessCat- you know, I based Carmen on a bunch of traits from a couple ex- girlfriends and cousins, because I wanted Cyborg's girlfriend to be Hispanic. As for the name, I just like that name. I completely made that part about her parents up, but I did draw from elements of my grandfather's death. See, he kept a bunch of big cats like pumas and ocelots. He was kinda crazy. So one day, he decided to get a big 'ol Bengal tiger. And when he would feed these cats, he would go into their cages and feed them. Nothing happened with his previous cats, but that tiger got him. My mom was 16 then, but he was like a year-round Scrooge. I don't want to get into that, since I'm depressed enough as it is, but thanks for reviewing.  
  
Maybe you guys can cheer me up. I need some compassion here.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
-Outside of Titans Tower-  
  
Fenrir grasped onto the side of Titans Tower, idly listening for the right moment. Lyrim's orders were still fresh in his mind.  
  
His torpor was cut short when his acute hearing picked up the words "...I'm going to bed..."  
  
He scrambled up the side of the Tower like a spider, hundreds of feet above ground. Fenrir clambered over to the nearest window, and peered inside. Behind the hallowed glass, Fenrir spotted someone sleeping in bed, the covers skew about the divan. He couldn't tell which of the humans it was, so he observed the human's surroundings. In the corner rested a sunburst guitar and an amplifier, situated below a poster that read "Master of Puppets".  
  
'Not room master want. Fenrir kill green human later,' the demonic hound thought to himself. He crawled to the next window he encountered and looked inside.  
  
He found the Tamaranian girl in her room, changing for bed. He should have moved on to the next window, but he decided to look some more. You know, just in case there was...important information. Yeah, that's it.  
  
A sudden knock on her door caused Fenrir to snap out of its trance. He scuttled onto the next window, making sure his presence was not detected.  
  
The next one was empty. Fenrir continued onward.  
  
Upon reaching the next room, it found what it was looking for. It peered inside, to make sure the Azareth was asleep. She was, to Fenrir's relief.  
  
'Fenrir want kill Azareth. Master say not yet. Fenrir obey,' he thought to himself unquestioningly. He quietly grappled onto the window itself, and using his claws, began cutting a circle in the window through which he could fit. He surprisingly did it without a sound, possibly because the sheer serration of his claws allowed him to incise the glass with the most infinitesimal amounts of pressure.  
  
Once Fenrir had made the hole a reasonable size, he crawled through without a sound and scoped the surroundings of his soon-to-be victim. He extended his leathery legs and began to creep, still as quiet as a ghost. Upon reaching his objective, he crouched on his hind legs and used his forearms to grasp what he was seeking.  
  
The Azareth stirred in her sleep, and Fenrir alertly turned, his eyes trained on her every move. She merely turned in her sleep, dreaming. Fenrir heard her utter the words, "Beast Boy...I love you..."  
  
Fenrir resumed back to his work. As he held the mirror in his hands, he slid his claw forcefully across the diameter of the mirror. As it cracked, he thought he saw several figures, each in different colored cloaks, approaching from behind the mirror, as if they dwelled there.  
  
The hound pounced out the hole in the window in one giant leap, and free fell from the top of Titans Tower. As he neared the ground, he curled up into a ball, his excess skin flapping in the wind. Upon uncurling from the ball, he threw his legs out to the side, and a pair of giant wings sprouted from behind his shoulder blades, like a plant sprouting from the dirt. These wings were reminiscent of a bat's, with the thin appendage extending in a V-shape and skin stretching outwards, providing the uplift of air needed for flight.  
  
As Fenrir began his flight, he lowered his altitude and skimmed the lake's meniscus. Extending his freakishly long claws outward, he grabbed onto a fish that happened to be swimming by. Without so much as looking at it, he opened his mouth and swallowed it in one bite, no chewing. As the fish slid down his throat he roared as loud as it could, making the sound echo across the city. Flying at well over a hundred miles per hour, he adjusted his itinerary and began flying in the direction of his master.  
  
'Fenrir break mirror. Obey master. Master happy. Let Fenrir kill humans. Fenrir happy,' he thought brusquely. It didn't take much to please Fenrir.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Robin grasped the roses in his left hand with a slight hint of apprehension. 'Now or never,' he reassured himself.  
  
He knocked on the foreboding door. As he shifted the flowers in his hand around nervously, he was responded with, "I am changing, would you mind coming back at another time?"  
  
Perfect. Just perfect. "Umm, Star, it's me, Robin."  
  
"Oh! Well, hold on a minute, I'll be right there," the Tamaran called out. Robin started sweating. 'Oh boy,' he bemused.  
  
A couple seconds passed, and Starfire opened the door. "Yes, Robin?"  
  
She was dressing in a red nightgown that came to far above her knee, with a robe draped over it. Robin inadvertently stared at her attire, but then quickly regained himself. "Umm, Star, I uh, got you these flowers!" he said, thrusting the roses he had been holding behind his back towards the Tamaran. Starfire let out a squeal of delight and grabbed the roses. She looked at them for a moment, set them down on the end table adjacent to her bed, and threw her arms around Robin.  
  
"Thank you Robin! This is oh so sweet of you! Thank you so very much!" she gushed, starting to cut off Robin's circulation.  
  
"Star...can't...breath...seeing...colors..." Robin gasped out, struggling against Star's vice grip. Starfire let go, and gave Robin a moment to breathe before pulling him by the arm into her room. "Robin, you must help find a place to put them!"  
  
Robin followed Star into her room, and began sweating slightly more at the prospect of him and Star alone in her room. Starfire grabbed the roses from her table and began scouting her room for an appropriate site. She tapped her chin with her index finger in a gesture of thought, and grasped Robin's hand as she walked over to her dresser.  
  
Robin flushed furiously when Star grabbed his hand. 'God, if you get worked up about holding hands, how are you gonna handle going out with her?'  
  
"Robin, what do you think?" Starfire asked, setting the flowers in a vase she conveniently had resting on the apex of her dresser. Robin used his free hand to flash a 'thumbs-up' sign. Starfire smiled, however not in her orthodox way. She threw her arms again around Robin, making careful notice to allow him to breathe.  
  
"You are so sweet, Robin," she said with a hint of affection in her voice. Robin fumbled with his words in an attempt to respond. "Umm, yeah, it wasn't really, I, umm, it's not, umm, you're...welcome?"  
  
Star didn't respond. Instead, she held Robin closer and rested her head on his shoulder, beginning to rock back and forth slightly. Robin lost all his doubts and embraced her as well, using one hand to gently stroke her hair and the other to hold her close to him. Starfire lifted her head up, and looked Robin straight in the eyes.  
  
"Robin...I love you."  
  
"I love you too Star."  
  
Starfire moved her lips with agonizing apathy towards Robin's. But before there lips could lock, a loud "BOOM!" from Raven's room grabbed Star's attention. She broke the embrace and headed towards the source of the sound, still clad in her nightgown.  
  
"Raven? Are you okay?" she yelled out. Robin grumbled slightly, complaining about there always being a distraction when it was least beneficial to him.  
  
Robin jogged after Star, and opened Raven's door. There, just about every single thing in her room was thrown about, as if a tornado had hit her room. Robin had heard that expression before, but he could never imagine something more fitting to it than Rave's state of room.  
  
Beast Boy came sprinting down the hall as fast as he could, skidding on the tile floor. Upon stopping, he ran into Raven's room frantically. "What's going on? Is Raven okay? What happened? Is Raven okay?"  
  
Robin motioned for him to chill out. Beast Boy saw the wreckage in her room, and began panicking even more. "Oh no! Raven's been kidnapped! She's being held for ransom! WE HAVE TO GET HER BACK!" he said, grabbing Robin by his collar and shaking him as he ranted.  
  
"Beast Boy, calm yourself. I'm fine. Sort of." Raven said from her spot on the bed, which Beast Boy had evidently not taken the time to see.  
  
"Raven! You're okay!" he yelled, rather than a simple 'oh'. He ran over to her, but paused when he saw her. She held herself as if she had no feelings whatsoever, and when she talked, there was absolutely no trace of the slightest hint of emotion.  
  
"My emotions escaped from my mirror. How, I don't know," Raven stated without feeling.  
  
Beast Boy winced. "So, you're telling me that your emotions are all over Jump City? Every single one!?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"And judging by your current state, I'm guessing we have to go get them?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"God damn it."  
  
Beast Boy rubbed his chin for a minute. "Well, I at least know where one is," he said, and walked over to Raven's closet in the corner of her room. He opened it to find a replica a Raven dressed in a gray cloak. Timid.  
  
"Please, leave me alone. Nobody likes me," the emotion moaned. Beast Boy sighed, and grabbed her hand. He led her back to Raven's mirror, which lay scratched on her floor. He thrust Timid in front of the mirror, and it didn't take long for a big black hand to grasp the withdrawn emotion. Raven immediately snapped out of her impassive trance. However, seeing as there was only one emotion in there as of yet, that was how she constantly felt.  
  
"Oh...hi guys," the real Raven mumbled demurely. Robin and Starfire, who had no idea what was going on, stared with their mouths agape.  
  
"Umm...what the hell was that about?" Robin asked, bewildered. Starfire nodded and added, "Yes, please tell us who that gray colored Raven was!"  
  
Beast Boy sighed. He really didn't want to explain this himself, and fortunately for him, before he had a chance to start, Cyborg's voice could be heard calling out, "I'm home!"  
  
Sounds of moving about could be heard downstairs, and after a couple minutes Cyborg emerged into the hallway. He spotted everybody crowding in Raven's room, something that didn't happen. It just didn't. He figured the day that all the Titans were in Raven's room would be the same day that the sun would set in the east and the Rangers would win the World Series simultaneously. (Sorry to any Rangers fans. If there are any.)  
  
"Why are we all here?" he asked. Robin turned to him and explained, "There was an accident with Raven's mirror, and now all her emotions are loose," he paused, then noticed Beast Boy jumping up and down, pointing to himself.  
  
"Except for one, which Beast Boy found."  
  
Beast Boy grinned at Cyborg, proud of himself. "It was Timid. I was just about to explain Raven's emotions and stuff, since Raven's a little...introverted right now."  
  
Cyborg blinked. "Did you just use a word I didn't know?"  
  
Beast Boy laughed and said, "I had to look it up. It was in an article. It means 'withdrawn.'"  
  
Cyborg nodded. "Okay. And...you want me to help you explain it?"  
  
Beast Boy nodded vigorously. So Cyborg sighed and began explaining Raven's mirror and her emotions, with occasional outbursts from Beast Boy.  
  
At the end, Robin and Starfire were now thoroughly confused.  
  
"Ooookay..." Robin said, and decided to not waste time asking questions. "Okay, Beast Boy and Cyborg, since you know the most about Raven's emotions, aside from Raven, you two go find the rest of her emotions. Star and I will try to find out who or what did this."  
  
Cyborg and Beast Boy groaned. "Can't we get a little shut eye first?" Cyborg asked tiredly. Robin glared at him and said, "No! By the time we all wake up, they could be anywhere in the world!"  
  
Although he had a valid point, Beast Boy still grumbled as he headed towards the window. He changed into a giant pterodactyl, and Cyborg hopped onto his back after grabbing the mirror. As the two flew off, Robin took to analyzing the scratches on the mirror.  
  
"Who the hell could have done this?" he thought out loud. Starfire chose to ignore him and instead try to talk to Raven. Which of course was a futile effort, seeing as her single emotion right now was Timid.  
  
"Raven?" Star asked kindly. The Azareth just shrunk back and said, "Please, don't talk to me. I'm not good enough to talk to you."  
  
She tried to talk with Raven many more times, but all were fruitless. She sighed after a while and wondered how Beast Boy and Cyborg were doing.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Okay, let's think here. There's Brave, Happy, Knowledge, Lazy, Frustration, a couple others, but I can't remember them. Let's start with Knowledge," Beast Boy planned as he flew through the air. Cyborg nodded.  
  
"Okay, so if I were Knowledge, where would I go?" Cyborg asked. The two thought for a minute as the wind rushed past them. About two minutes passed before Beast Boy got it.  
  
"Jump City Museum!"  
  
Cyborg snapped his fingers. "That's it!"  
  
Beast Boy swerved down, a little too close. He almost collided with the ground, but managed to pull up before they both wiped out.  
  
"Careful, BB." Cyborg scolded. Beast Boy scoffed and said, "You're lecturing me on responsibility?"  
  
Cyborg rolled his eyes. "Hey, I have a sense of duty! It may be small, but it's there nonetheless."  
  
They argued for a couple minutes more, but stopped once they reached the museum. They tried to walk inside, but an elderly guard held out his hand and said, "Stop! You're not getting in here without paying!"  
  
Beast Boy groaned. "We're from the Teen Titans, though!"  
  
The guard scoffed. "Sure, kid. You have any idea how many punks like you we get dressing up as the Teen Titans just so they can get in for free?"  
  
"But we're the real Teen Titans!" Cyborg and Beast Boy protested simultaneously. The sentry turned his nose up and said, "Nope! Not falling for it! Besides, you two don't look anything like Beast Boy and Cyborg."  
  
Okay, this had gotten beyond irritating. This was just plain infuriating. Beast Boy stepped back a couple feet from the guard, and changed into a T- rex. Cyborg opened up is sonic cannon and fired off into the sky.  
  
"...Oh, my bad. Go on in." the guard said, terribly embarrassed. Beast Boy changed back to normal and walked with Cyborg into the museum.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Next chapter: Beast Boy and Cyborg continue their search for Raven's emotions and Robin and Starfire begin to uncover the root of the problem.  
  
This is mud signing out. 


	4. My Sweet Demoness Part 2

Poor Twisted Me Chapter 3

Mud here. I feel a little better. Okay, time to answer some reviews.

Kestrel- Thanks. I do feel better. That chapter was really depressing to begin with, but I'm over that. Thanks for reviewing!

Kuramie and Kaiaramith- Whoa, there's TWO of you! Just kidding. I will update ASAP, but school's been a bitch lately.

BunnyKat- Yeah, Kirk Hammet does rock. As for Raven's emotions, I was originally planning to make that a story on its own, but then I decided to put it into this one instead.

Warprince2000- you sure review a lot, don't you? Well, anyway, thanks for reviewing and I will update a quick as I can.

Princess Cat- Thank, I can write fast when I want to. Except I didn't want to for this chapter. Mkay. Thanks for reviewing!

Bunny133- Hey, living proof that writing in all caps will make you sound louder. Thanks again!

ScarletAngel68- No, because the only team I really hate are the Yanks, but they still win anyway. 'Sides, the Rangers have like a 200-1 chance of winning this year. I grew up in St. Louis, so I was basically raised to hate the Yankees. And Beast Boy will find Affection...now!

StarfireRobin4ever- don't hurt yourself. Yeah, I spent a lot of time perfecting that RobStar fluff. It took a while to get it just right, which was a pain in the ass after a while.

Moezy-chan- Yeah, I love RobStar fluff too. That's why I wrote it. Thanks for the review!

Celeste- Yeah, I'll answer any questions you have, 'cause I have no social life at all (Kidding!). Actually, I've never seen Inuyasha. I don't really intend to either. The only animated shows I like are Teen Titans, Simpsons, and South Park. I know, kind of contradictory, but that's about as far as I'll go with animated stuff.

Oh yeah, I know I said I wouldn't write a lemon, and I haven't. There are just sexual references in this chapter. Not a lemon. There's a difference. Anyway, enjoi.

* * *

-Raven's room, 1:52 AM-

Robin carefully extracted the sediments on Raven's window. Putting them under a glass slide, he placed them under a portable microscope and studied them. Using tweezers, he separated the remnants of her window from an unknown dust left on the scratches.

Starfire fretfully played with her hair as she looked over Robin's shoulder. The masked Titan zoomed in, and began extracting DNA samples from the sediment. If he were lucky, maybe they would reveal something. He took the unraveled DNA over to a machine he had set up in the corner of Raven's room and set it down.

The suspense was killing Starfire. She couldn't sit still, so she began chewing on her nails, a habit she had picked up somewhere.

"Huh. Strange," Robin commented as he studied the DNA sample. Starfire looked up and asked, "What is it, Robin?"

Robin motioned for her to come over, which she did. He moved from his spot on the chair and said, "Here. Take a look for yourself."

The Tamaran did so and found nothing of interest. "I see nothing Robin."

Robin hit his head. "Oh yeah, you don't know about human forensics. Okay, I'll just explain it myself then."

Star perked up and began listening attentively to Robin. The masked leader began explaining, "Okay, in a strand of DNA, for all creature, there are only four types of substances that make them up a particular strand. They are guanine, cytosine, thymine, and adenine. But this sample of DNA," he paused and pointed to the sample under the scope, and continued, "has an additional component. The other four are there, but there's an extra one...to make things even weirder, it's from a chemical base that...isn't natural. This new component is made from a complex compound consisting of beryllium, barium, and uranium."

Starfire was slightly confused. "What is the significance of this?"

"Star, beryllium, barium, and uranium are the most toxic substances on this planet. Uranium is very unstable and I don't understand how it can form into an ionic bond without upsetting the balance of valence electrons, which would surely cause a nuclear reaction. But somehow they manage to perfectly coincide without any type of covalent bonding, which never happens, given the they way beryllium conventionally bonds and..."

"Shh," Star said, pressing her finger to Robin's lips. "That's enough."

Robin nodded, and returned to his studies. This was going to be a long night.

* * *

Meanwhile...

Cyborg and Beast Boy easily jogged through the museum, seeing as it was one o'clock in the morning. They ran into the art gallery, and sure enough, there was Knowledge, gazing at a replica of Da Vinci's "Madonna of the Rocks".

The sprinted over and skidded on the well polished tile floor upon reaching her. The emotion turned around and saw the two Titans.

"Beast Boy! Cyborg! Might I be so audacious as to importune into the matter of your unanticipated presence?" she asked.

After a couple seconds of blank stares, she said, "Why are you here?"

"Dude! Why are you here?" Beast Boy asked, irritated. Knowledge gestured to the painting and said, "I ascertain that gazing upon these 'magnum opus' of yore is very congenial."

Another awkward silence. "I like looking at paintings."

Beast Boy got frustrated. "Okay, enough with the big words! Just get in the mirror!"

"Huh?"

Beast Boy grabbed Raven's mirror and held it out towards Knowledge. A large black hand instantly appeared, grabbing Knowledge by the waist and sucking her back into the mirror. The emotion was sucked into it before she could react. When she disappeared into the dark shadows of the mirror, a small portion of the scratch disappeared.

"Hey...maybe every time we find an emotion, some of the mark disappears!" Beast Boy said. Cyborg rolled his eyes. "No shit, Sherlock!"

"Shut up."

Beast Boy stopped to think for a minute. "Okay, so where could her other emotions be?"

Cyborg considered this. "What about Bravery? Knowing her, she's probably jumping off of the skyscrapers downtown."

Beast Boy nodded. "Good idea!"

So the two traveled onwards.

* * *

-Outskirts of Jump City, 2:12 AM-

Fenrir tucked his wings back as he approached his master's lair. As he crawled over the boulders and foliage that littered the forest floor, he scouted carefully for the spot where the hideout was located. Fenrir came to a large, ancient tree that looked as if it was older than forest itself. He extended one large claw out and carved out a shape on the wood.

The shape Fenrir had engraved turned blood red and began to glow eerily. A loud rumbling sound could be heard echoing throughout the forest, and a large part of the tree seemed to melt away. The departed wood had formed a door of sorts, revealing a winding staircase that looked as if they reached down to the depths of Hell itself.

Fenrir began sprinting down the stairs to reach Lyrim quicker. As the staircase widened, he found himself in a voluminous room filled with spell books and voodoo dolls.

"Were you successful, Fenrir?" a booming voice that called out from the back of the vast room. Fenrir roared loudly with domination, signaling he was.

"Excellent. All right, Fenrir. I will let you kill one human tonight, as long as it is not one of those Titans."

Fenrir growled happily, and rushed off to do his gory pleasure.

As the demonic hound disappeared from his sight, Lyrim pulled out a book and opened it up. In it were the enormous amounts of studies he had done on the Teen Titans. He flipped over to the one named Garfield Logan, a.k.a. Beast Boy.

"This one might be of use to me yet. I believe I will...persuade him to help my cause. Even if he doesn't realize he's doing it."

* * *

-Downtown Jump City, 3:23 AM-

"Dude, it's three fucking o'clock in the morning. You think we'd be able to find something," Cyborg complained. Beast Boy shrugged and said, "I would've thought so too."

Cyborg sighed and leaned up against a parked car. "It's been an hour since we found Knowledge. If we don't hurry up Raven's going to be stuck as a shy nerd for the rest of her life."

Beast Boy nodded. He was about to say something, when a loud crash prevented him, followed by the annoying sound of a car alarm and a loud "Ow!" Cyborg whipped his head around reflexively, and saw the source of the disturbance a few yards away. Motioning for Beast Boy to follow him, he began jogging towards a smoking car. A green robe-clad person popped out of the cavity, rubbing her head.

"You know, it's never a good idea to go bungee-jumping without a bungee cord," Bravery said. Cyborg grinned at Beast Boy and said, "Who called it? Who called it?"

Beast Boy rolled his eyes and made a mocking motion with his hand.

"Hello?" Bravery said, knocking on Beast Boy's head, which surprisingly, made a hollow sound. Beast Boy winced and pulled away, rubbing his head.

"What? I was talking," Beast Boy whined. Bravery punched him on the shoulder, extended her hands and said, "Hi-five!"

Beast Boy sighed and complied, slapping her hands. Cyborg pushed the mirror into Beast Boy's hands and urgently said, "Dude! Mirror! Emotion! Now!"

They were interrupted by the sound of windows opening and an old lady yelling, "You kids sit down and shut up!"

They all ignored her. Beast Boy took the mirror, pushed Cyborg away, and held out the mirror to the unheeding Bravery. A large black hand reappeared from the mirror, grabbing Bravery and sucking her back into the portal in the blink of an eye.

A portion of the crack slowly faded away, and disappeared altogether.

Beast Boy looked at Cyborg and said, "Okay, so we've got Brave, Timid, and Knowledge. What else is left?"

Cyborg scratched his chin and thought for a moment.

"Happy, that's one..."

"I think the orange one was Lazy..."

"Lazy would probably be lying around in the park somewhere...what about Frustration? Or would that be Anger?"

"Well, I know that she got rid of Rage a while back, so I guess Frustration would be a bit of a step down..."

"Oooh, what about Jealousy?"

"Yeah, that's a good one. But where would we find all of them?"

"I don't know, maybe we should look at Raven's favorite café or something. Maybe Frustration is outside, griping about it not being open at three in the morning."

"Good idea."

* * *

-Jump City Park, 4:12 AM-

The twilight moon illuminated Jump City Park, giving it an eerie aura, like something was going to pounce on Beast Boy and Cyborg at any moment. Beast Boy, being the paranoid person that he was, was doing double takes every other minute. Which after a while began to get on Cyborg's nerves.

"BB! Will you knock it off? Nothing's going to jump out and attack us," the hybrid said reassuringly. Beast Boy took a deep breath and said, "Okay, I'll try to calm down."

"BOO!" came a loud voice.

"AAH!" Beast Boy screamed, jumping up in the air and landing in a pink clad Raven's arms.

"Scared ya!" Happy said, giggling uncontrollably and dropping Beast Boy. Cyborg couldn't help but laugh.

Beast Boy dusted himself off. "Did not! I was...surprised."

Happy rolled her eyes and said, "Sure. Come here, gimme a hug!" She threw her arms around Beast Boy, squeezing him hard.

"Hey! I'm here too!" Cyborg yelled irritably. Happy looked at him and said, "Oh, hi Cy."

Cyborg rolled his eyes and said, "Gee, glad to see I'm so loved. Beast Boy, move out of the way, so the mirror doesn't suck you in too."

Beast Boy reluctantly broke Happy's hug and stood back. Cyborg pushed the mirror towards her. Happy gave him a funny look, before the giant black hand appeared again, grabbing her and pulling her back into the mirror.

Another small portion of the crack disappeared, leaving about a little less half of the original crack remaining.

Beast Boy looked up at Cyborg. "So that's, what, the fourth one?"

Cyborg nodded. "Yeah, so I'm going to guess we've got three more. Jealousy, Frustration, and Lazy."

"Speaking of which," Beast Boy said, jerking his head towards an oak tree a couple dozen yards away, "is right there."

Sure enough, Lazy was there, sleeping like a baby, huddled against the tree. Cyborg blinked.

"Wow, that sure is convenient," Cyborg said, scratching his head. The hybrid walked over to the napping Lazy and held the mirror up to her. Before she could even stir in her sleep, the black hand materialized, seizing the quiescent emotion and dragged her back into her world.

Cyborg sat down and yawned. "Dude, it's got to be four o clock in the morning. How much longer are we going to be stuck doing this?"

Beast Boy kicked him lightly in the side. "Dude, these are Raven's freaking emotions. Stop being so lazy."

Cyborg groaned. "Can't we at least take a break?"

Beast Boy rolled his eyes. "You can take a break, but I'm going to go look some more. I'll come back here when I find an emotion, so stay here."

Cyborg stared as Beast Boy took the mirror from Cyborg's hands and began walking off, his figure becoming smaller and smaller in the distance. He shook his head.

"Where does he get the energy?"

* * *

-Jump City, Aunt Arella's Café, 4:27 AM-

As Beast Boy walked along the moonlit streets, he spotted Raven's favorite café from a distance, as well as a person clad in a bright red cloak, pacing back and forth.

As Beast Boy walked closer, he could hear snippets of self-conversation.

"There is no fucking way...I...stupid...expect me to...place is a lousy dump anyway...honestly, I feel like...can't even...fucking coffee or tea...only four in the morning...Jesus freaking Christ, I'm going to...they better pray to God...there is no fucking way..."

Beast Boy quietly walked up to the tetchy emotion, which must be Frustration, thinking of how to handle this scenario in the most efficient way.

"Um, Raven?" he said tentatively. Frustration whipped her head around, fire in her eyes, and yelled, "What?! Can't you see this fucking café has pissed me off enough already?!"

Beast Boy cringed and decided to forget the plan.

Beast Boy took the mirror from his pocket and held it up to the griping emotion. Frustration opened her mouth to nag about something, but the giant black hand grabbing her and pulling her back into the mirror cut her off. Beast Boy sighed, glad to have that out of the way.

Beast Boy put the mirror back in his pocket, changed into an eagle, and began flying back towards the park, where Cyborg was waiting for him.

* * *

-Uptown Jump City, 5:01 AM-

"So how'd your encounter with Frustration go?" Cyborg asked, kicking a rock that lay in his path.

Beast Boy shuddered. "Dude, Frustration is like Raven with PMS. Not pretty."

Cyborg sighed. "We've been looking for Jealousy for half an hour. Where the hell is she?"

Beast Boy shrugged and sat down. "I don't know, but I need to sit down. My legs are killing me."

Cyborg sighed again and sat down next to Beast Boy.

"Maybe we should forget about it and go home. You know, Raven probably wouldn't mind not having Jealousy. I mean, at the very worst, she won't be jealous anymore" Cyborg pondered.

Beast Boy gave him a funny look. "That may be true, but we don't know how this whole thing works. For all we know, the lack of one emotion may mean that none of the others can function, and then we'd be back to square one."

Cyborg groaned. "There's just no easy way out of this, is there?"

"Where have you been? I've been looking all over for you!" a disconcerted, urgent sounding voice said. Cyborg and Beast Boy turned around to see Raven clad in a light green cloak, tapping her foot impatiently.

Beast Boy gave Jealousy a funny look. "Where have we been? Where have you been? We've been looking for you all night!"

Jealousy snorted and said, "How do I know you're telling the truth? How do I know you haven't been off making it with some random slut? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Tell me the truth!"

Beast Boy sighed and rolled his eyes. He took the mirror out of his pocket and held it up to the emotion. The oh-so proverbial black hand emerged, grabbing Jealousy and dragging her back into the mirror.

* * *

-Titans Tower, 5:32 AM-

Beast Boy and Cyborg trudged wearily into the Tower. The sun had already begun rising, and they haven't had a wink of sleep yet.

But there was still one emotion missing, because the crack in the mirror was still there. Beast Boy and Cyborg didn't even know what the emotion was; let alone where to find it. They had all the emotions they remembered from their last trip; either there was a new emotion, or they were forgetting someone. Beast Boy was hoping for the former.

Cyborg yawned. It had been a grueling search. "BB, I'm gonna go hit the hay. G'night."

Beast Boy nodded. "Me too. See you tomorrow."

As Beast Boy headed off towards his room, he saw Raven's door was open. He tiptoed back in and put the mirror onto her dresser. The sounds of snoring caught his attention, and he saw Robin and Starfire sleeping together in the corner, both conked out from long night's work. Robin had his arm around Star in a tight embrace.

"I'm too tired to even care." Beast Boy said, and sluggishly walked back into his room. He closed the door behind him and was about to fall into his bed, when he saw someone was already there.

"Hi, Beast Boy." A silky, lust-filled voice called out.

Sitting on his bed was what looked like Raven, except she was wearing a brick red cloak.

'Oh...that's the missing emotion,' Beast Boy thought to himself. Before he could react, she had walked over to him and pinned him up against the wall. She slowly pressed her lips to his and embraced him tightly. The green shape shifter was shocked, and then he realized what emotion she represented.

'Affection...who would've guessed?' he thought. As the emotion deepened the passionate kiss, she moved her left hand over to the door's lock. Upon locking the door, she broke the embrace and pushed Beast Boy onto the bed.

"You don't know how long I've been wanting to do this," she said as she fell next to him. Beast Boy began sweating nervously as she once again pressed her lips against his. The two of them fell back against the pillows, lost in the ardor of the kiss.

* * *

-Titans Tower, 12:19 PM-

Beast Boy stretched upon awakening, and yawned loudly. "Man, what a night," he said tiredly. He the realized Raven was still sleeping next to him. Or, rather, one of her emotions.

"Did you have fun?" a voice from behind them called out. Beast Boy jumped, literally, from surprise. He turned his head and saw Cyborg standing in the doorframe.

"Cyborg! What I was...I didn't really...it's not...how'd you unlock the door?" Beast Boy frantically asked, his face flushing feverishly.

Cyborg just laughed. "I think we found our last emotion."

Beast Boy began to get mad. "Gr...go away!" he said, and threw his pillow at Cyborg. The half-robot continued laughing and walked out, closing the door as he left.

"Crap! He's probably going to tell Raven...Shit, she's going to be so fucking pissed," Beast Boy fretted.

The sound of rustling covers diverted his attention to the beauty next to him. Even though she was an emotion, she was still as stunningly beautiful as the true Raven. As Affection finally awoke, she gave Beast Boy a 'good morning' kiss on the lips.

"Last night was great, BB," she said, and planted another peck on his cheek. Beast Boy grinned, despite his magnanimous nervousness.

"Was I really that good?" he asked hopefully. Affection nodded. "You bet your green ass it was."

Beast Boy laughed, proud of himself. "You know, you have to go back into that mirror," he said despondently. She made an 'awwwww' sound and nuzzled his chest with her head. "But I don't want to leave," Affection said in a slightly whiny tone. Beast Boy felt the same way.

"I know, me neither. But you can't stay forever."

So Beast Boy and Affection got dressed and walked towards Raven's room, which was still open. Raven was still asleep, thankfully. Beast Boy grabbed the mirror from Raven's dresser and held it up to Affection. The familiar black hand materialized, grabbing Affection. Before she was sucked back in, Affection demonstrably waved good-bye. Raven stirred in her sleep, but did not get up After the emotion had returned to her realm, Beast Boy snuck back outside, grateful Raven had not awoken.

As he passed his room, Beast Boy suddenly felt very dizzy. Before he knew what had happened, he was out cold on the floor.

* * *

"Beast Boy...Beast Boy..." a gruff, captivating voice called out.

"What..." Beast Boy said, not knowing what was going on. He took a minute to study his surroundings. It didn't take long; he seemed to be in a dark abyss. There was nothing nearby, just an infinite darkness that seemed to enshroud everything.

"Ah! You are awake!" the disembodied voice said. Beast Boy turned around and saw a short man with a very strange looking beard. The man was extremely muscular, as if there was no bodily fat anywhere on his body.

"Who are you? Where am I?" Beast Boy asked dazedly. The man replied, "I am Lyrim. Where we are right now does not matter; what matters is what you will learn while you are here."

Beast Boy was confused. "What do you mean?"

Lyrim began pacing around him. "Beast Boy, have you ever wondered why you exist? Have you ever wondered what the purpose of your life is?"

Beast Boy scratched his head. "I guess so..."

"Do you know why you are on this Earth? Because I do."

The green shape shifter took a wild guess and said, "Umm...I guess to help people?"

Lyrim chuckled. "Wrong, Beast Boy. But do not fear; for you are not alone. All people are blinded by their naivety, and thus cannot answer this question. I'll tell you a little secret," he said, and bent down close to Beast Boy's ear. "The secret is...that your life is meaningless."

"What!?" Beast Boy yelled. This was making no sense.

"Stop and think about it for a minute. What have you accomplished in your life? Sure, you have saved people; you have made friends; you have had loads of fun. But those people you saved will all die eventually, as will your friends, as will yourself."

Beast Boy was now extremely confused. "But I'll always have those memories to remember! That's what's important, isn't it?"

Lyrim chuckled again. "Beast Boy, memories are just memories. And once your friends die lonely and miserable, those memories will only remind you of their suffering and pain. Which reminds me," he continued, his brusque voice echoing throughout Beast Boy's head, "Of another secret. Remember this one well, because it is the most important. The purpose of life...is to liberate people from their pain of life."

Beast Boy took this in, and then asked, "What do you mean?"

Lyrim began pacing around Beast Boy again, and made movements with his hand as he talked. "Life is nothing but pain and agony, young one. You may have pleasant memories, but they will dwindle away in light of unpleasant ones. Death, my dear Beast Boy, is the ultimate liberation. All the agony and despair of mortal life is gently...swept away. Ah, yes."

"You're crazy!" Beast Boy yelled, unable to grasp the concept that death was the way to get rid of pain.

"Quite the contrary!" Lyrim yelled, his voice turning angry. "It is you who must lift your blindfold and come to realize that life has no true purpose! The only was to make your meaningless life useful is to liberate others from their pain, and once you can liberate no longer, you free yourself. That's the way it was meant to be! But man strayed from the path that had been planned for it by the Gods of Fate. Thus, man's existence has become nothing but suffering."

Beast Boy still couldn't believe him. "But what about Raven? And Cyborg? And Raven? And Starfire? And Raven? And Robin? And Raven?"

Lyrim turned and faced him. "Do you really think they care about you?"

"I don't think, I know!"

Lyrim laughed, this time a cruel, resounding laugh that chilled Beast Boy down to his very soul. "You are the paragon of gullibility, my friend. They do not care about you. Do you remember when you were mistaken for that alien's dog? They fought to get you back. But the next day? You were invisible to them yet again. The only reason they keep you around is because they are afraid of you. Care for you? Hah! If they had two reasons for it, they would kill you with a clean conscience.

In realty, Lyrim was lying and he knew it. But Beast Boy's mind had already been tainted by his mendacity.

"How...how do you know all this," Beast Boy asked, not saying whether he believed him or not. But the shocked tone in his voice proved he was already warped by the evil man's twisted philosophies. Lyrim placed his hand on Beast Boy's shoulder.

"My methods are immaterial. What matters is that you realize this before it's too late to do any good."

Beast Boy grabbed Lyrim's hand and threw it off of him. "I don't believe you!"

Lyrim sighed. "You will come to terms with my thinking eventually. When you do, you will know where to find me."

Beast Boy growled, and turned into an elephant. But before Beast Boy could do anything, Lyrim had disappeared, leaving only one last resounding statement: "Another time, Beast Boy. Another time."

"Beast Boy? Beast Boy!" Robin's voice replaced that of Lyrim's. Beast Boy looked around, not knowing where he was in this black void.

"What?!"

"Beast Boy! Wake up!" Cyborg's voice called out. Beast Boy continued frantically looking around, unable to find the source of the voices.

"Where are you guys?"

"Beast Boy, please wake up!" Beast Boy now heard Raven's voice resounding about.

"Raven! Where the hell are you!?"

"Oh my goodness, he's not dead, is he?" Starfire asked, her voice ringing with worries and fear for the green changeling.

Beast Boy couldn't take it anymore. He held his hands to his ears, trying to drown out the sound. But it was of no use; the voices kept echoing, getting louder and louder, until it seemed like his ears would explode.

"Stop! Stop it! Leave me alone," he yelled, practically going insane from all these voices in his head.

"Beast Boy! Wake up!" Robin shaking him by his shoulders cut his trauma short. Beast Boy jolted awake, not knowing what to do. He panted, still reeling from the whole ordeal with Lyrim.

"Beast Boy! You are alive!" Starfire squealed, and hugged him with relief. Beast Boy pushed her away and began walking towards his room.

"Beast Boy? What's the matter with you?" Robin asked. Beast Boy ignored him and walked on, reaching his room. He slammed the door shut, making a loud 'BOOM!' echo throughout the Tower.

"What's his problem?" Raven asked. But deep down, she was scared. For a minute, she thought something terrible had happened. Not to mention she knew what he had done with her emotion. Yet for some strange reason, she didn't care. Maybe she was just glad some form of her was able to express emotions to Beast Boy without something exploding.

Cyborg shrugged. "He's probably tired from last night. Lack of sleep can make someone grumpy."

"Maybe," Raven said vaguely, as if she had her mind on something else. Cyborg shrugged again and headed towards the garage. "I'm going to Axis. See you guys later."

"Bye," Robin and Starfire said simultaneously. Raven, however, said nothing. She considered trying to cheer Beast Boy up, but then decided he just needed some time alone.

"Maybe I shall go cheer him up?" Starfire asked sweetly. Robin placed a firm hand on her shoulder, advising her against it. "No, Star. I don't know what's going on, but there's probably nothing we can do about it."

Star's shoulders slumped, and she concurred. "I suppose you are right, Robin."

* * *

Elsewhere...

Lyrim settled back in his chair upon returning, subconsciously, to his lair. Fenrir was still off satisfying his grisly pleasures, leaving Lyrim alone to further his plot.

"The green one has been tainted...it is only a matter of time before he turns to me..." Lyrim mused to himself. "And when he does, he will become my tool for ultimate liberation."

He continued to talk to himself for a while until the scraping of claws against marble signified Fenrir's return. The demonic hound carried a mangled and disemboweled body in its mouth, the body impaled upon his teeth.

"Did you enjoy yourself?" Lyrim asked imperturbably. Fenrir roared, and dropped the body at the feet of his master. Lyrim found a dog tag around his neck, and ripped it off to examine it.

"Slade Wilson...interesting."

* * *

-Titans Tower-

Beast Boy was at variance with himself. One side of him believed Lyrim's words of wisdom, yet the other was convinced there was more to life than killing.

'He does have a point,' part of him said. The other, however, deviated. It argued, 'But what about Raven? You know you love her, and she most likely loves you too!'

'She doesn't love me!'

'Yes she does! What about that...encounter...with her emotion?'

'That was just an emotion! Not Raven herself!'

'Her emotions reflect on how she feels!'

Beast Boy couldn't make up his mind. He still loved Raven, and he knew it. But...he still had his doubts.

He straightened up from his spot on the bed, having made up his mind.

"Okay! I'll ask Raven how she feels! Umm, tomorrow!" he said, not wanting to face her today.

He calmed down, having settled his internal dispute somewhat, and walked over to his Peavey ESP Special sitting in the corner of his room. He picked it up, plugged it into his Mesa Boogie amplifier, and began to play 'Battery'.

* * *

Okay! Next chapter: Raven ignores Beast Boy, and, in his anger, Beast Boy leaves the Titans, not intending to come back. How long will it take the Titans to realize something's wrong? How long will it take me to stop asking you these freaking questions and update the story? Tune in for the next installment of...

Poor Twisted Me!

Holy crap, that was weird. This is Mud signing out.


	5. My Sweet Demoness Part 3

Poor Twisted Me Chapter 4  
  
Okay! Mud again. Just as a warning, most of you are going to hate me for what I'm going to do to BB and Raven's relationship. But just wait until the end of the chapter. Teehee.  
  
Okay, review answering time.  
  
Warprince2000- wow, you've said the same thing for every review. Don't you get tired?  
  
Funvince- Okay, allow to answer your questions. For Beast Boy and Raven's emotion, Beast Boy was not taking advantage of Affection. I tried to make it clear that Affection was making all the moves, but I guess it wasn't as obvious as I intended. As for what they did, use context. ^_^ Also, Lyrim is very persuasive by nature, which will become very obvious a little later in the story. But I never said it would work. Just keep reading and you'll see...  
  
Raven07- Really? Five smileys? I'm flattered! Thanks a bunch!  
  
BunnyKat- YEAH! METALLICA FUCKING ROCKS!!! Pardon my French. And yes, they did do what they think you did. That was the most fun part to write yet. ^_^ And since everyone seems to be thinking the same thing, Beast Boy will leave in this chapter. BUT HE WILL COME BACK! BBRaven is my favorite pairing! I would never have them separate permanently! I am very evil though. Muahaha.  
  
Guest- same thing to you! Beast Boy will come back! In fact, Raven has to be the one to convince him to come back! Oh shit, I just gave it away. Ummm...forget I said that.  
  
Metallikid- Hell yes! Another Metallica fan!! ROCK ON!!!! \m/ Yeah, Battery is one of their best songs. And I saw on your profile that you were going to use Battery for a character. Sounds good! Oh, yeah, I have a personal challenge for you. At the beginning of the story, I challenged my readers to find all the Metallica references in this story. So far, nobody has even tried, except for one person. So, if you can find all the references I have, as of yet, I will forever immortalize you with this story. Same goes for everyone else, but I'm betting that if anyone will get it, it'll be you. Thanks for reviewing and ROCK ON!!!  
  
Kestrel- don't be sad! The first part of this chapter might be depressing, but I'll fill it up with lots of ubery good fluff at the end! YAY FLUFF!!  
  
Princess Cat- Cheers to you too! Yeah, you'll see why that part with Slade was necessary in later chapters.  
  
With that said, on with the chapter. The last part is a songfic to Pantera's "This Love" Not the one by Maroon 5. Completely different bands, completely different genres, completely different songs. Also, this chapter contains drug references, just so you know.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
-Titans Tower-  
  
It had been one day since Lyrim had attempted to poison Beast Boy's mind. But the green changeling had kept his promise to himself. It didn't stop him from having doubts as he walked up the steel door that had Raven's name engraved upon it.  
  
Cyborg was at the skate park, per usual, and who knows where Robin and Starfire were. The perfect time to ask Raven. Or so he thought.  
  
He took a deep breath as he tapped the door that barred him from his unrequited love. It slowly nudged open, and Raven's pale yet gorgeous face poked out.  
  
"What do you want, Beast Boy?" she asked impatiently, as if she had been doing something important. She most likely was, but there was no way it could be more important than Beast Boy's confession.  
  
"Raven, I...have...something to..." Beast Boy began stuttering, unable to keep serene.  
  
Raven stopped him mid-sentence. "Beast Boy, I was in the middle of meditating, so if you don't mind, leave me alone." And with that, the door slammed shut.  
  
Beast Boy felt like he could cry. But his grief turned to anger, and his anger turned to hate.  
  
"Why do you have to be such a bitch when all I want to do is talk!?" Beast Boy yelled furiously. From inside her room, Raven heard his obscenity. But rather than being angry, she was hurt. She felt ashamed of herself suddenly, and opened her door to apologize.  
  
"Beast Boy? I'm sorry! I didn't mean to..." she began saying, but stopped mid- sentence.  
  
Beast Boy was gone.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
'My God, Lyrim was right. She doesn't care for me,' Beast Boy depressively thought to himself as he flew over the streets of Jump City in falcon form. He continued to dismally think to himself, each passing minute falling deeper into dejection. He even found considering going to Lyrim for consolation.  
  
Fortunately, he flew over the East Coast Music Mall as he soared over his city. He banked deeply, heading towards the "musician's paradise", as it had been accurately dubbed. This place always cheered him up.  
  
As he pushed past the automatic doors, he gazed at the eclectic assortment of instruments. Fender, Gibson, Tama, Pearl, Squire, Mesa Boogie, they had it all. He longingly studied the Gibson Les Paul hanging from a peg, when all of a sudden a small flyer taped to the wall caught his attention.  
  
He walked over to it and read it keenly. It said, "Wanted: Lead Guitarist for death metal band Fallen Cherub. Auditions from 12:00 to 6:00. Call 1- 465-1990 or come to 666 Burton Avenue."  
  
"Lead guitar. Death metal. Sounds good to me," Beast Boy said, thinking out loud. He grabbed the flyer, jogged out of the automatic doors, and transformed into an eagle, flying in the direction of the Tower.  
  
Almost like a sign from God, a raven sat perched on the roof of the Mall. It cawed inconsolably at the passing eagle, as if it were begging for something. The caw echoed, filled with melancholy, like it was asking for clemency.  
  
But its call was not heard. Beast Boy flew on.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
-Titans Tower-  
  
Beast Boy flew through his open window and set the flyer on his bed. He wrote the address on the back of his hand, so he wouldn't forget. The green shape shifter then walked over to his mirror, and began studying himself intently.  
  
"Wow, if I want to be in a death metal band, I need some serious changes," he said to himself. What do people in death metal bands have?  
  
He turned his head to look at the Hatebreed poster hanging above his bed. It was one of many; last he counted, he had thirteen posters, all of which were somehow music related.  
  
"Okay...tattoos...body piercing...spiky hair...I can do that," he assured himself. He needed a change of clothes too. Tights were not very headbanger. After some consideration, he decided he would spike his hair while he was still here, and then do the rest once he left.  
  
Beast Boy ran into the bathroom, trying to avoid being seen, and pulled out Robin's bottle of hair gel. Squeezing a big blob onto his hand, he began running it through his hair hastily. The finished product was to his liking. His hair was very wavy and straight, and for once he looked slightly intimidating.  
  
"That was easy enough," he said. He tiptoed back into his room and grabbed his wallet. Changing into an eagle, he yet again soared out of the Tower.  
  
Meanwhile, Raven had been thinking of ways to apologize. It was only as she was pondering that she realized...she knew nothing about Beast Boy. Her first consideration was a video game, but then she came to the realization that he no longer played video games.  
  
"Holy crap...you mean to tell me in three years, I have never once taken the time to notice how much he's changed?" she said, her shame turning into disgust.  
  
"What have I become?"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Beast Boy walked out of Bob's Discount Tattoo and Body Piercings holding a paper towel to his eyebrow to impede the bleeding. Although he still ached, he was happy with himself. The green changeling had gotten two tattoos on each arm, a large one on his back, two earrings, and a bolt in his eyebrow. By now he was practically unrecognizable. Well, if he weren't green he would have been unrecognizable.  
  
He jogged through the sidewalk, not wanting to change for fear of being recognized. After about fifteen minutes, he came to his destination: Hot Topic.  
  
Beast Boy entered the store and walked past the counter to the Men's section. He browsed through a bunch of shirts that all bore random band's names. Beast Boy came upon a Mudvayne T-shirt, and considered it. He liked Mudvayne. Beast Boy picked up the shirt and carried it on his arm.  
  
Meanwhile...  
  
Raven browsed through the selections of Hot Topic. After remembering his often-rambunctious guitar playing, she got an idea for an apology gift. Thus, Raven decided that she should get him something music-related.  
  
"Hmmm...Slipknot...Marilyn Manson..." she thought out loud as she leafed through the wide assortment of shirts. As she searched on, something caught the corner of her eye. It was a teen, probably the same age as her, but he was green. She thought it was Beast Boy, but that was impossible. His hair was spiked, for one, and he sported multiple tattoos and piercings. Definitely not the Beast Boy she knew.  
  
"Huh. Strange," she deliberated. After another glance at him, she continued looking on.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Okay, tell us your name," Ben "Pyro" Howe, the singer and rhythm guitarist for Fallen Cherub asked an auditioning guitar player. He sat on a folding chair behind a card table, situated in between his two fellow band mates.  
  
The kid scratched his head torpidly, and said, "Whoa...my name...what's my name...I thinks its...Mary...or Joe...whoa, my hands are soooooo big." His eyes were blood-shot, and he could barely keep them open.  
  
"Dude, this guy is stoned out of his fucking mind," Robert "Bobbo" Goncalves, the drummer, said. Ben nodded his head, but kept his eyes trained on the aspiring player.  
  
"Right...play us something then," Dave "insert nickname here" Mustaine said. The kid snapped out of his trance and began, or rather, tried to, play "Stairway to Heaven"  
  
He made it to two notes before he messed up.  
  
"No...that's not right..." he said, and resumed playing. This time he made it to three notes.  
  
"No...that's wrong..." Back to two notes.  
  
"Oh my God. Next!" Ben yelled. The kid didn't budge.  
  
"That means leave!" Robert told him. The stoner once again snapped out of his hypnotic state, and began walking off. In the wrong direction.  
  
"Hey, you forgot your guitar!" Dave called out, but to no avail. The kid's drug induced languor kept him from hearing this. He kept on walking dazedly until he hit the mailbox in front of the garage where the auditions were being held. He dropped back and landed on the grass, falling into a deep slumber.  
  
"Jesus fucking Christ, I need some aspirin," Ben complained. "Next!"  
  
The following audition would shock them to no end. In walked a face they knew so well; it had been plastered on the newspapers, magazines, and TV. Standing in front of them, holding a Peavey ESP Special was none other than Beast Boy. THE Beast Boy.  
  
"Holy crap! What are you doing here?" Robert asked incredulously. This was the face they recognized as Beast Boy's; yet he had tattoos and bodily piercings, not to mention he donned a black Mudvayne shirt.  
  
Beast Boy raised an eyebrow. "I want to join your band. Unless I'm too late..."  
  
"No, you're not too late. It's just that...shouldn't you be, you know, out fighting crime? Since you're a Teen Titan and all that jazz?" Dave inquired.  
  
Beast Boy frowned. "Former Teen Titan."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Raven had decided on the perfect apology gift. She flew through the air, happily anticipating Beast Boy's reaction to her gift. In her left hand she had an object enfolded in black wrapping paper tucked into her cloak.  
  
"He's going to be so happy when he finds out what I got him," Raven said to herself. She knew it wasn't like her to apologize, especially to Beast Boy, but that made it all the more satisfying. She felt somewhat...anxious to give it to him. Hell, it was beyond anxious; she was plain ardent.  
  
Upon reaching the Tower, she saw none of her friends had returned yet. Which was good, because she wanted privacy.  
  
"Beast Boy? Beast Boy?" she called, discouraged by the lack of response. Living room? Nope. Kitchen? Nope. Training room? Nope.  
  
"Beast Boy! Where are you?!" she yelled despairingly. She gave up and fled to the consecration of her room. Setting the gift on her dresser, she assumed he was out doing stuff and decided to give her gift when he returned.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Okay, then, if you don't want to be called Beast Boy, what should we call you? Garfield? Gar?" Dave asked the green changeling in front of him.  
  
"How about the Artist Formerly Known as Beast Boy?" Ben joked. Beast Boy, Dave, and Robert all looked at him.  
  
"...Never mind then."  
  
Beast Boy shrugged. "Gar's fine."  
  
Robert settled back into his chair and said, "Okay, why don't you play something for us?"  
  
Beast Boy nodded. Adjusting the strap around his shoulders, he began to play 'Eruption' by Van Halen.  
  
Ben, Robert, and Dave were astounded. Not only was he playing Eruption, he was playing it perfectly.  
  
After speeding through high-tempo and complex riffs of Eruption, Beast Boy threw his head back and asked, "Well? How was it?"  
  
Dave was the first to break the silence. "I think we have our lead guitarist, don't you?"  
  
Robert and Ben nodded in unison. "Hell yeah!"  
  
Beast Boy grinned. "Do we have any songs yet?"  
  
Robert shook his head. "No, we just play other people's stuff. So far we've done 'The Beautiful People', Marilyn Manson, 'Hellbound', Pantera, and a couple of Dimmu Borgir songs."  
  
Beast Boy smiled again. "Can we play 'Battery' by Metallica?"  
  
Robert scratched his head. "Sure, but the drums might take a little practice."  
  
"I'm fine with that."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
-The next day-  
  
Raven was scared by now. Beast Boy had neither returned last night nor this morning. It was already noon, and for the first time, Raven feared for his safety.  
  
Starfire, Cyborg, and Robin shared this worry, although not to the extent of Raven. Robin theorized that he had gone to visit someone and had spent the night. Raven utterly and completely loathed the prospect of Beast Boy spending the night at someone's, and made that clear. But she assured herself that if he had done that, he would have left some kind of note.  
  
Cyborg noticed her abhorrence at Robin's theory, and made a mental note on it. This was good blackmail material.  
  
Starfire had made numerous ideas as to his absence, all of which were infinitely incongruous. Five related to some type of horror movie staple.  
  
And now, as Raven sat in her room, she decided she would go look for him.  
  
"Maybe something in his room will give me an idea where to look..." Raven said to herself. She got up from her bed, and picked up her gift, thinking it might come in handy. She left her room and entered Beast Boy's.  
  
What she found devastated her. Not only did she find many posters of various death metal bands, she saw his guitar was gone.  
  
"Weird..." she said. She walked over to his CD stack, and studied them. (A/N: Truckload of donuts to anybody who can name all the artists of these CD's!)  
  
"Antichrist Superstar...Golden Age of Grotesque...God Hates Us All...Reign In Blood...Kill 'Em All...The Great Southern Trendkill...The Rise of Brutality...holy shit, this is dark stuff..." she noted, surprised at his tastes in music. Beast Boy wasn't exactly the type of person who seemed like he liked death metal.  
  
As Raven continued looking on, she felt a rising disgust with herself. In three years, she had never noticed how much he had changed?  
  
Her attention shifted to a flyer on his bed. She picked it up and read it.  
  
"Fallen Seraph...666 Burton Avenue...easy enough to remember," she told herself. Retreating back to her room, she donned a hooded sweatshirt and a pair of baggy cargo pants. With that, she flew out of her open window, the address still echoing throughout her head.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"663...664...665...here it is, 666," Raven said as she flew along Burton Avenue. It was a medium sized house, not shabby yet not luxurious. She landed by a bush growing in the front of the yard, and listened as she heard the sounds of music thundering from inside the house. She couldn't recognize anything, since the walls of the home blocked a fair amount of sound.  
  
The booming noise stopped abruptly, and Raven could make out a voice saying goodbye. Who, she didn't know.  
  
Raven ducked behind the bush to avoid detection as two guys walked out of the front door. Both wore all black; one had a stubby brown goatee, the other bald completely. The two conversed together, and Raven made out the names. The one with the goatee apparently was "Bobbo" and the other was Dave or David. Once they passed, oblivious to her presence, she slowly walked up to the front door and rapped on it.  
  
A tall, slightly overweight man who sported multiple tattoos and two bolts in his chin answered her.  
  
"Can I help you?" he asked in a deep, throaty voice that was oddly soothing. Raven nodded and said "Yeah, I'm looking for my friend Beast Boy, have you seen him?"  
  
He scratched his head confusedly, and then snapped his fingers. "Oh! You mean Gar! Yeah, he's here. You wanna see him?" he asked inquisitively. Raven nodded.  
  
"Hey Gar!" he yelled, the call echoing throughout the home. "By the way, I'm Ben Howe. Raven, I assume?" he said, extending his hand. Raven shook it and nodded.  
  
He was about to ask something, when Beast Boy came to the door. "What is it...oh, it's you. Ben, can you give us five minutes alone?"  
  
Ben nodded and went off into his home, leaving Beast Boy and Raven alone. Raven hardly recognized him; he had a freaking bolt in his eyebrow, for Christ's sake! He wore a white wife-beater, revealing his newly acquired tattoos.  
  
Beast Boy glared at Raven. "What do you want?"  
  
Raven was hurt by his angry tone. She took a deep breath and said, "Beast Boy I want you to come back."  
  
In my life all I wanted was the keeping  
Of someone like you  
As it turns out deeper within me, love was twisted  
And pointed at you  
  
The green headbanger snorted. "Ha. Tell me, was it Robin or Starfire who told you to say that?"  
  
Raven was again shocked. Was this really her fault? "Neither! I came here on my own because I care about you! I was worried sick! I thought something had happened to you! I know what Ii did yesterday was wrong, and I'm sorry!"  
  
I'd been the tempting one, stole her from herself  
This gift in pain, her pain was life  
  
Beast Boy's upper lip curled slightly. "Raven, I live here now. I sick and tired of you rejecting me, I'm sick and tired of no one noticing me, and I'm sick and tired of not being cared for!"  
  
Now he was being plain insulting. True, Raven did kind of deserve it, but she was wearing her heart out on her sleeves for him. "Beast Boy, I said I'm sorry! Why can't you forgive me?"  
  
And sometimes, I feel so sorry  
I regret this, the hurting of you  
But you make me, so unhappy  
I'll take my life and leave love with you  
  
"I'll believe you when you start telling the truth!" Beast Boy yelled angrily. He turned his back and began walking towards the door.  
  
This was too much for Raven. Tears began flowing down her face, and through her sobs she shouted, "I am telling the truth!"  
  
Now it was Beast Boy's turn to be shocked. He suddenly felt aghast at himself. He was so blinded by his anger that he didn't even want to hear the truth.  
  
"Raven...I didn't know...God, I'm so sorry," he said, walking over to her. Raven didn't care if something exploded; she threw her arms around him and began sobbing on his shoulder. Beast Boy caringly stroked her hair as she held onto him tightly, still weeping.  
  
When she stopped crying, she looked at him in the eyes. "Beast Boy, I'm sorry about yesterday. I never realized...could you ever forgive me?"  
  
Beast Boy hugged her tightly. "Of course, Raven. I'm the one who should be sorry."  
  
Raven returned his affectionate embrace, resting her head lovingly on his shoulder. "Can you please come back, BB? I miss you."  
  
Beast Boy looked at her. "What about my band? I still have to play lead guitar."  
  
Raven softly touched the side of his face. "You don't have to leave your band. Just come back, please."  
  
He gingerly touched the bolt in his eyebrow, and asked, "Do you think the others will care about this?"  
  
Raven shook her head. "Even if they did, it wouldn't matter. Actually," she said, her tone changing somewhat covetously, "I like it."  
  
Beast Boy grinned. "Really?"  
  
"Mmm-hmm."  
  
"Cool. The tattoo on my back still hurts like a bitch though," he complained. Raven frowned and moved behind him. She lifted the back of his shirt up, and saw what it was.  
  
Drawn on his back was a picture of what looked like a skeleton, with its arms crossed, making the "double-v" sign with its hands. A banner above the skeleton read, "Rock On" and there was a intricate background drawn in. It looked hella awesome.  
  
"When did you get all these?" Raven asked. Beast Boy smiled. "Today."  
  
She rolled her eyes. "Thought so."  
  
She suddenly found herself looking into his eyes, as if she were hypnotized. Beast Boy too gazed dreamily back, amorously admiring her beautiful lavender eyes.  
  
"Raven...I have something to tell you..." he said, snaking his arms around her and hugging her tightly. As she hugged him back, he whispered into her ear, "I love you."  
  
Raven smiled and said, "I love you too."  
  
The embrace broke as they found themselves once again staring into each other's eyes. Seizing the moment, Beast Boy pressed his lips to hers, passionately kissing her. Raven made no effort to stop him; rather, she kissed him back even more fervently.  
  
They had no idea how long that kiss lasted, but neither of them wanted it to end. As Beast Boy pulled her in closer to him, Raven deepened the kiss. As they stood there, lost in there own little world, a disembodied voice called out, "Get a room, will ya?"  
  
Beast Boy and Raven ignored it. They were too far lost in themselves to take any notice of it.  
  
After what seemed like an eternity, they broke the kiss. Beast Boy wore a huge grin on his face, having savored every second of it. He scratched his head and said, "So...guess I should tell Pyro I'm leaving."  
  
Raven frowned. "Who's Ppyro?"  
  
"The guy who lives here. He's the singer. His real name is Ben Howe, but we call him Pyro."  
  
Raven nodded, confirming his statement. Beast Boy sighed, not wanting to break the embrace, but pulled away and headed towards the door. He knocked loudly, and Ben answered it. "Done?"  
  
"Yeah. I'm moving out, so I'll need my guitar."  
  
"Dude! You're not leaving the band, are you? Because you are the greatest guitar player we've ever had!"  
  
Beast Boy smiled. "Chill. I'm not leaving. I'll still be in the band. I just...need to prioritize," he said, and motioned towards the idling Raven. Ben grinned and asked, "She your girl?"  
  
Beast Boy blushed. "Sort of."  
  
"Because I taped you two making out on my lawn."  
  
Beast Boy rolled his eyes, knowing he was kidding. "Very funny."  
  
Beast Boy went into Ben's house and emerged a couple seconds later carrying his guitar and amplifier. Ben waved and said, "Later! Don't forget, we have practice Saturday and Wednesday at five!"  
  
Beast Boy nodded his head, and replied, "I know! See you then!"  
  
As he jogged towards Raven, carrying his equipment, she put his arm around his shoulders. "Need help?"  
  
Beast Boy shook his head. "Nah, I'm fine."  
  
Raven affectionately squeezed his bicep and said, "You know, your muscles show when you carry that stuff. You've been working out, haven't you?"  
  
Beast Boy beamed at her. "Yes, I have."  
  
Raven suddenly remembered her gift. "Oh yeah!" She reached into her pocket and pulled out an object in black wrapping paper. "Beast Boy, I got you this gift, as a token of my apology."  
  
Beast Boy set his gear down and took the gift. "Wow, thanks. What is it?"  
  
"Open it and find out!"  
  
So he did. As he tore open the wrapping paper, he suddenly realized what it was.  
  
"Whoa! A Dimebag Darrel Signature Wah-Pedal? Where'd you get this?" he asked. Raven smiled. "East Coast Music Mall. I know you got your guitar there, so I decided you needed something to go with it."  
  
Beast Boy threw his arms around Raven and hugged her tightly. "Raven, I love it! Thank you so much! I love you!"  
  
Raven hugged him back. "I love you too."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
See! I told you he wouldn't leave forever! I told you! And I was right! Because it's my story! YAYY!!!!!!  
  
Next Chapter: Cyborg introduces Carmen to the Team...Starfire begins to have terrifying, haunting dreams about a certain hound from hell we're all familiar with by now...and what's the deal behind that mysterious church- burning?  
  
Next time on...Poor Twisted Me!  
  
Holy God, I did it again. Twice in a row! Maybe I should do that every chapter...Or maybe I shouldn't...  
  
I'm going to go eat a sandwich. Or maybe I won't...  
  
This is Mud signing out. 


	6. The Gift from the Pit Part 1

Poor Twisted Me Chapter 5  
  
Hi, Mud here again. Okay, time to answer some reviews. Which I do at the beginning of every story. Maybe I should try a change of pace...Nah, I already did that with the end. I'm still getting used to that TV announcer thing. Brr...  
  
Princess Cat- YAY!!!!! I GET BROWNIE POINTS!!!!!! I don't know what those are but I STILL HAVE BROWNIE POINTS!!! Yeah, having too much candy is always fun. Up until you get a cavity. Then you just get a filling and EAT MORE CANDY!!!! YAY!!!!!!  
  
ScarletAngel68- Yes! They do love each other! Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww (I gotta breath)wwwwwwww. But when you say 'that evil guy', do you mean Slade? Because that will become very important in later chapters. Not to give too much away, of course...  
  
Sanity-Stealing-Lawn-Gnome- Hey, you reviewed again. And thank you! Christ, everybody just loves to flatter me.  
  
Moezy-chan- I will! And thanks for reviewing!  
  
Metallikid- Nice job! You found them all!! EXCEPT ONE!!!!!! The title of this story, Poor Twisted Me, is a Metallica song from the album Load. But your efforts inspire me. So this chapter and the rest of the story are dedicated to you, Metallikid. LET'S GIVE HIM A HAND!!!!!!  
  
Warprince2000- Still saying the same thing! That's kind of funny. But you are my most consistent reviewer, so kudos.  
  
Kestrel- I'm glad you trusted me too! And Fallen Cherub will play important parts yet to come. By the way, can anyone guess where I got their name? It's a little obvious, but still...And YAY UBERY GOOD FLUFF!!!!  
  
Writerofthefuture- Well, I'm glad you were so open-minded to read my fic. BBRaven is my personal favorite, so I don't read much of anything else. So it's pretty remarkable of you to be so flexible with your tastes. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
My apologies to anyone who doesn't speak Spanish, as part of this chapter might get a little confusing for people who don't speak it. Me, I'm just bilingual ^_^  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
She ran as fast as her legs could carry her, yet the chaser managed to gain on her. The poor Tamaran stumbled, and she covered her face as she waited for the attack. As her attacker neared her, she was able to make out its ridiculously long teeth and claws, loose leathery skin, and elongated head.  
  
"No...please don't," she sobbed, knowing it was of no use. The creature opened its mouth and...  
  
"Ahh!" Starfire yelled, awakening from her slumber. A dream. It was all a dream.  
  
She got up from her bed and looked into her mirror. She had bags under her eyes from lack of sleep and her insomnia was beginning to take its toll.  
  
It had been one week since Beast Boy returned to the Tower, clad in earrings and tattoos. She was shocked at his sudden change, but she was now used to it. But ever since his return, she was incessantly plagued by horrific dreams of a haunting creature that somehow...looked familiar.  
  
"I need sleep..." she told herself lazily. But she couldn't fall asleep, for those haunting dreams returned without fail.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Elsewhere...  
  
Lyrim walked through the nighttime darkness, shielded by his own obscurity. Fenrir crawled loyally by his side, making careful notice to make not a single sound.  
  
The two suddenly stopped. In front of them stood a 200-year-old Catholic Church, celebrating its bicentennial tomorrow. Or rather, today, seeing as it was 2 in the morning.  
  
Lyrim grinned and reached into his cloak, pulling out a fine, tenuous powder. He chanted something unrecognizable, and the powder began to glow blood red. He threw it at the church, and the instant the powder made contact with it, it burned sultrily, erupting in a jet-black flame. It took but a single minute for the church to burn completely down, leaving only ashes.  
  
Lyrim walked over to the remnants of a once hallowed and sacred place, and picked up some of the ashes. He tucked them in his cloak and walked on, Fenrir torpidly walking at his flank.  
  
'Two down...one to go...' He thought to himself malevolently.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Starfire yawned as she shuffled into the kitchen; her eyes glued shut from lack of sleep. She sat down at the table and yawned loudly, making Robin turn his head.  
  
"You okay Star?"  
  
She shook her head. "I have been having trouble sleeping Robin. Lately I have been having these...horrible nightmares, and I can't sleep because of them."  
  
Robin raised and eyebrow and sat next to her. "What about?"  
  
Starfire didn't even open her eyes. "I don't know...but they are always the same...first I'm being chased by this terrifying demon...then I trip...then it catches me...then my vision turns red and I wake up."  
  
"Sounds bad. Maybe we should take you to a psychologist."  
  
"Anything that will rid me of these ghastly dreams," she said, and hugged Robin. "Thank you, Robin."  
  
Robin smiled and hugged her back. "Anytime, Star."  
  
They gazed lovingly into each other's eyes, but there attention was caught by a new report blaring in the living room.  
  
"In conclusion, French fries are not really French. In other news, local authorities are struggling to find out the cause of a mysterious church burning in uptown Jump City. St. Anger's Catholic Church, as it was called, was burned down on the eve of its bicentennial. Some police place the blame on arsonists; others on immoral death metal stars."  
  
(A/N: This is actually based on a very infamous incident. In the late 90's, there was a church burning in Norway, and locals attributed it to rising death metal stars, since Norway is like the hub of death and forest metal)  
  
"What was that look for?" Beast Boy's voice asked unpretentiously. Raven's voice then replied, "I didn't say anything."  
  
"I did not burn down a church."  
  
"I never said you did."  
  
Robin walked into the living room the see Raven and Beast Boy watching the morning news. It was something they did together now, for some reason. "What's going on in here?" he asked inquisitively.  
  
Beast Boy gestured to the TV. "There was a church burning in uptown Jump City, and some stupid 'authorities' placed the blame on death metal. Which is total bullshit," he said, making the quotation marks sign with his index and middle fingers around the word "authorities".  
  
"Sure about that?" Robin joked. Beast Boy lowered one of those fingers.  
  
"Very funny," Robin said, rolling his eyes at Beast Boy's obscenity. He had yet to get used to this new Beast Boy.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
-Later that day-  
  
"Cyborg, when are you going to introduce me to the rest of your friends?" Carmen asked innocently as she linked her arm in Cyborg's.  
  
The half robot shrugged. "How about now?"  
  
Carmen lit up. "Really? That would be great!"  
  
Cyborg led her to the T-Car, and opened the door for her. "After you, m'lady," he said, in a false gentlemanly tone. Carmen giggled and climbed into the passenger side.  
  
Cyborg hoped into the driver's seat and revved the engine, gushing at the 1500-horsepower engine's sheer brawn.  
  
"Who's my baby?" he said. Carmen looked at him funny and said, "Are you talking to the car or me?"  
  
Cyborg chuckled nervously. "Uh, you! Of course! Heh heh..."  
  
It was about a ten-minute drive from Axis to Titans Tower. Cyborg turned the CD player on, which began blaring NOFX.  
  
Carmen enjoyed the punk melodies resonating throughout the enclosed area. Before long, they had already arrived at their destination.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
We've all done it before. Beast Boy was online, more specifically on Google. He typed his own name in, and sat back, waiting for the results.  
  
"10,754,927 hits," he said carelessly. Seeing as he was a hero, most of the hits were either from tabloids, devoted fans, or something to do with a certain orange cat.  
  
"Hmm...tabloid...tabloid...tabloid...ooh, what's this?" he said, and clicked on a link displayed in blue. It was a picture, posted on a message board someplace. It was a very poor drawing of the Teen Titans, a caption underneath each picture.  
  
He read the caption of Robin out loud, chuckling as he read it. "Robin was Batman's sidekick for many years until suspicions arose that Batman was getting a little too attached to him. After raiding Batman's fairy dream wonder home, they found disturbing evidence that caused him to lose custurdy (Not to be confused with custody) of Robin. Since then, Robin has been suffering from a tuna addiction and it is feared he may turn into a turnip at any moment...well, I fear it. Robin's second name is 'Banks'."  
  
Beast Boy laughed. "This is good stuff!"  
  
Moving onto Starfire's picture, he read, "Starfire is an alien from a planet where everyone wears a miniskirt. She derives her power from the mysterious alien liquid known only as 'Sunny Delight'. The copious amounts of sugar in Sunny D allows her to fly, shoot zappy things, and say comic phrases. The only drawback of using Sunny D as a power source is that her skin is now tainted orange."  
  
Beast Boy was doubled over with laughter. He would definitely have to show these to the others.  
  
He shifted his attention to his own picture, where he was drawn as a squid.  
  
"Beast Boy is a short...I mean, vertically challenged young man who can become a variety of different animals. Here, he would be shown in 'neutral' form, but he's much easier to draw as a squid. Heh, squid."  
  
'I grew!' Beast Boy thought to himself indignantly. Still, he admitted, it was really funny.  
  
Next was Raven. Oh, boy. But before he could read it, a voice yelled out, "Beast Boy! Come here!"  
  
He book marked the page and headed downstairs. He saw all the Titans congregating around, and it was only after he nudged Robin aside that he saw what it was about.  
  
"BB! Just in time!" Cyborg said. Next to him stood a very, very beautiful girl, who looked Hispanic in nature. She had flowing black hair and deep brown eyes.  
  
"Who's this?" Beast Boy asked. Cyborg held the girl close to him and said, "Guys, this Carmen. Carmen, meet the Teen Titans."  
  
Carmen waved and said, "Hola!"  
  
Beast Boy looked at her. "¿Tú hablas español?"  
  
Carmen nodded. "Sí, yo viví aquel hasta tengo trece años, luego viví en el Gotham City hasta último año, cuando yo vení aquí."  
  
Beast Boy replied, "Ah. Mi abuelo y mi abuela etuvieron viviendo en Mexio, y yo estoy vivido recto norte de la borde. Al vez me moví, estuvo fluente."  
  
The other Titans, however, had no idea what the hell they were saying. They didn't even have any idea that Beast Boy spoke Spanish.  
  
"Translation?" Raven asked flatly. Beast Boy turned to her and scratched his head.  
  
"I was just telling her where I learned to speak Spanish," he said, grinning proudly.  
  
Carmen held her hand out to Raven and said, "Hi! Nice to meet you Raven!"  
  
Raven took it dubiously, and slowly shook it. "Charmed."  
  
Once everybody had gotten acquainted with each other, Beast Boy lightly punched Cyborg in the arm. "You lucky dog, you."  
  
Cyborg grinned. "Hey, you're the one that fu-"  
  
Beast Boy covered his robotic friend's mouth with his hand, knowing he was going to bring up his encounter with Affection. "Don't say it..."  
  
Cyborg chuckled. "Mhhm mhmm mmmm hmmh."  
  
"What?" Beast Boy said, and uncovered his mouth. Cyborg took a breath and said, "HEY RAVEN!"  
  
Before he could say anything else, a large wolf had tackled him. The two wrestled on the tiled floor, fighting for verbal dominance. The other Titans stared at them, and then resumed talking.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Elsewhere...  
  
Lyrim read acutely from a giant spell book resting on a pedestal. This was no ordinary spell book; written in human blood, bound in human skin, it was rumored to belong to Lucifer before his downfall. Lyrim had to slit many throats to get it.  
  
"The green one may have held strong against my ideals, and the Azareth may have gotten her emotions back, but those were merely two paths to take in a conduit of many," Lyrim mused to himself as he looked through the macabre tome.  
  
Fenrir lethargically chewed a human bone, crunching it adeptly into the tiniest pieces with his immense, acerbic teeth. Since Lyrim had forbidden him to harm the body of Slade Wilson further, the apocalyptic hound had nothing of interest to do.  
  
"Hmm...the Tamaran will not do, she is not from the earth...the same goes for the Azareth...the green one has impure blood...the half-breed is not fully human...I suppose Robin will be the perfect candidate," Lyrim cogitated to himself.  
  
"Fenrir!" he called. His unearthly comrade ran over, grateful for this opportunity to please his master.  
  
"Fenrir, do you see this human?" Lyrim said, and held out a picture of Robin. Fenrir roared loudly, corroborating his overlord. Lyrim held his stony expression.  
  
"I want you to draw blood from him. DO NOT kill him, lest I send you back to the underworld from whence you came."  
  
Fenrir cringed at the thought of returning to his previous home, and made chary note to leave the human alive. He growled, signifying his obedience.  
  
"Once you have his blood, return to me. If you do this without fail, I will let you kill him."  
  
'Fenrir not kill human. Fenrir kill human master send to home. Fenrir get red stuff. Fenrir give to master. Master happy. Let Fenrir kill human. Fenrir happy,' the archaic beast told himself.  
  
"Now go."  
  
Fenrir scurried up the stairs, keen to do his master's behest.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Nice meeting you Carmen!" a voice called out. Fenrir recognized it as the green human's. Not the one he was looking for. He continued listening, grasping the sone surface of the Tower like he had done in the past.  
  
"See you later!" a more feminine, cheerful voice said. This time it belonged to the Tamaran. Fenrir remembered her face well.  
  
"Bye." Still not whom he was seeking, the Azareth spoke this time.  
  
"Later!" Fenrir's ears perked up. This was his target. Deciding it was the right moment; he used his hell-gotten power of mind luring. As his subconscious entered Robin's, the demonic hound enticed him mentally.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
As Robin waved farewell to his departing friend, he felt a strange sensation, as if he were being magnetically drawn someplace. The others went inside, yet took no notice of Robin's peculiar behavior. His legs continued moving independently of his mind, until he found himself at the base of the Tower.  
  
He snapped out of his trance and looked around.  
  
"What the hell am I doing..." his sentence trailed off as he was tackled by a horrific beast. Before he could register who or what was attacking him, he rolled out of the way and withdrew his Bo-staff. He could not see anything in the midst of the nighttime darkness, but he could hear claws clicking against stone. He swung his staff, but hit nothing.  
  
The sound of wind rushing alerted him to his attacker's presence. He threw several bird-a-rangs, lighting the evening sky with light. The ensuing luminosity allowed him to glimpse his assailant.  
  
It was nothing like he had ever seen before. Although it was the size of a wolf, it was infinitely more deadly than one. His colossally extended head sported gargantuan fangs, each extending well beyond the borders of his mouth. His six eyes glared horrifically, as if they were grabbed your soul and ripping it out. His claws arched broadly, and they were so sharp they would make a grizzly bear hang his head in shame.  
  
The beast was evidently very nimble as well. In a split second, it had recovered and launched itself at Robin, teeth bared. Robin rolled underneath him, narrowly avoiding his trailing back claws.  
  
The hound roared a blood-curdling roar that chilled Robin down to his flesh. It sprouted bat-like wings and soared above him, faster than Robin's eye could see.  
  
Like a falcon, it dived down at Robin, and before he could react, its claws had scraped across his face. Shit, they were sharp.  
  
"ARRGH!" Robin yelled, clutching his face, from which blood was now pouring. He stumbled over a loose log, and fell back. He braced himself for the feel of those razor-sharp claws...but they never came. Instead, he felt a wet, slobbery tongue lick his face, mopping up the blood.  
  
And just as soon as it had come, it had left. Through his gashed eyes, he could make out its silhouette against the shining moon.  
  
"Robin! Are you unharmed!?" Starfire yelled frantically. She parted Robin's bloody hands and gasped. "Robin! You need medical help!"  
  
"What's going on?" Raven asked with a hint of concern in her voice. Beast Boy followed and said, "We heard explosions, so we came to check...holy crap, did you get cut up."  
  
"Gee, you think?!" Robin yelled, still clutching his lesions.  
  
"Dude, you need help," Beast Boy said.  
  
"I'll get the first aid," Raven said, and flew back into the Tower.  
  
"We must get you inside," Starfire worriedly said. She picked him up from under his shoulders and began flying towards the Tower. Beast Boy followed suit, and soon Robin was resting on the living room couch.  
  
Raven returned with the first aid kit, and set it down next to her injured comrade. Opening it up, she reconnoitered for something to stop the flow of blood with. She moved various odds and ends around until she came across some antiseptic and a roll of adhesive tape. She analyzed the four gashes stretching upwards across his face, with one even covering his right eye and went to work.  
  
"What the hell happened out there?" Beast Boy asked. Robin winced at Raven's appliance of the antiseptic and said, "I don't know...one minute I was standing outside, and the next this big, huge monster came charging towards me. It clawed me across my face...then it licked the blood up and left."  
  
Raven tore off a roll of adhesive. "What did it...stop moving, you'll make it hurt more...look like?"  
  
Robin stopped shifting around and replied, "It was the creepiest thing I'd ever seen...even worse than that time Beast Boy rented that horror movie and all the monsters began invading our house. It was like a wolf, but it had really loose, leathery skin. It walked like a dog, but its head was huge and narrow, and it had big ass teeth."  
  
Raven looked up curiously. "Did it have six eyes? And did it have wings that it could willingly grow?"  
  
Robin nodded, and winced from the ensuing pain. "How'd you know?"  
  
Raven stared blankly before answering him. "Back when I lived on Azareth, when I was about 14 years old, I had a...good friend named Izevm. We did everything together. But he was always into this demon stuff, and he'd always go around summoning these horrible creatures. One day he went too far and summoned a creature known as Fenrir...it looked just like you described it. It ran rampant, and destroyed my entire village before the elders combined their powers and banished it to the depths of the underworld...I never spoke to Izevm again. But I wonder how it could've escaped...unless someone summoned it that was more powerful than all the elder's power combined. Which scares me, because that much power can't be used for good."  
  
Beast Boy ogled her awkwardly. "Whoa...creepy."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Fenrir crawled down the spiral staircases, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu. Reaching the bottom of the steps, he spied his master once again absorbed in his prized spell book. Fenrir roared loudly, signifying his presence. Lyrim turned around and smiled at the sight of his companion.  
  
"You have the blood?"  
  
Fenrir opened his mouth and spit into a bottle resting on a nearby table. Lyrim chuckled to himself as he saw the vial filling up with the human's blood.  
  
"Excellent as usual, Fenrir. You may kill him now."  
  
'Fenrir get blood. Give to master. Master happy. Let Fenrir kill human. Fenrir kill human. Master happy. Fenrir happy. Master let Fenrir kill more,' the demonic hound thought to himself. Killing was his sole form of pleasure.  
  
As Lyrim watched Fenrir race up the stair to fulfill his morbid wishes, he picked up the vial filled with Robin's blood, leisurely swishing it around.  
  
"The final element...it is mine...once Fenrir returns, I will be able to carry out the prophecy..." he mused to himself impiously.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Raven had finished applying the bandages. Beast Boy had tried to turn in for the night, but obeyed Starfire's pleading request to stay and help her watch over Robin, lest that horrid creature returns.  
  
Raven was confused. During Fenrir's reign of blood, he never took survivors. Although he had only taken a dozen or so lives before his condemnation, no body ever got even scratched by him without being killed soon after. Why start now?  
  
Robin lay on the couch, all bandaged up, unable to see out of his right eye. About half an hour passed before Cyborg returned, oblivious to the events that had just taken place. After much explaining, Raven and Robin together explained what had happened. Yet Raven elected to leave out the fact that Fenrir never left any survivors.  
  
The moment they finished explaining, however, the windows in the living room exploded, glass shattering and falling to the floor. Once the Titans had recovered from the resulting shockwave, they gasped.  
  
In front of them crouched Fenrir, teeth bared and ready to pounce.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Dun dun dun! Next time: Fenrir is killed by the Titans, but they are unaware of his ability to resurrect himself. And on the eve of the vernal equinox, Lyrim summons an apocalyptic monster that fights and nearly destroys the Teen Titans. But while they are knocking on death's door, a mysterious figure from Raven's past comes to assist them, much to Beast Boy's disdain.  
  
Next time on...ah hell; you all know the title, so fuck it. 


	7. The Gift from the Pit Part 2

Poor Twisted Me Chapter 6  
  
Hello again. Mud here. Time to answer reviews!  
  
Rukato86- You saw that too? Oh my god, I was laughing my ass off when I saw that. Whoever came up with that was pure genius. Yeah, Raven probably wouldn't be too happy. That's why I stopped there.  
  
Chaotic pink chocobo- Whoa! Chaos, pink, and chocobos all in one? FUNNESS!!!  
  
Moezy-chan- yes, he can be resurrected, and you'll see why...once I'm done answering reviews. I know, I have a mild case of manic insomnia (that's when it's kind of on and off) so don't lose too much sleep, because it'll really suck ass the next day.  
  
Kestrel- Hey! You can speak Latin? That's cool! I'm stuck with stupid Spanish ^_^ Can you say this in Latin: How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?  
  
Sanity-Stealing-Lawn-Gnome- Weee! You went to Kentucky? Hope you had fun ^_^ did you have fried chicken there? Fried chicken is the best.  
  
Princess Cat- Oh, that's what brownie points are. How'd your brother get those for feeding a cat? I don't even have a cat! Well, I did, but it tried to kill me ^_^ Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Metallikid- I'll take your word for it. I could try to throw the Frayed Ends of Sanity in, but there will be a lot more references in the future, e.g. Orion and Metal Militia. I'm trying to work in the Call of the Ktulu, but I'm not sure how I could throw it in without messing up the story. And I saw you at the BBRaven Haven! You're a shipper already! God damn it, I'm still a rookie. Anyways, thanks for reviewing!  
  
Scarlet68- Dude! Are you a fucking mind reader? Holy crap! You just predicted this whole chapter! That is some scary shit right there. And what do you mean by 'that evil guy by Lyrim'? That part kind of confused me. And you'll see what part Slade has. He's dead, but that's the whole point! Read now and you'll see. Mmmkay.  
  
Warprince2000- holy crap! Do you just paste what you want to say onto the review? Cuz this is getting kind of funny. But you are my reviewer so I still love you all.  
  
On with the story!!!!! Oh wait, I forgot an exclamation mark. ! There we are.  
  
Oh yeah, the initial fight scene sounds a lot better if you listen to 'Down with the Sickness by' Disturbed as you read it. Hella awesome song.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
-Titans Tower-  
  
Fenrir rancorously stared at the Titans as he circled his targets. Cyborg readied his sonic cannon as Raven and Starfire formed a protective circle around Robin. Beast Boy tensed up, nervously awaiting combat.  
  
The apprehension was let loose as Fenrir leaped in a huge bound at Raven, claws outstretched.  
  
Beast Boy let his primal instincts overtake him as he reflexively transformed into a tiger. Leaping towards the airborne hound, he tackled Fenrir in midair. They collided like one mass of mutated creature and landed on the floor. Beast Boy sunk his fangs into Fenrir's back, yet was unable to penetrate the thick skin. His adversary, however, had no trouble piercing his thin layer of fur.  
  
Beast Boy roared in pain as Fenrir slashed him brutally across the chest, causing the shape shifter to lose his grip on the hound. But before Fenrir could execute his killing blow, a beam of blue and green knocked him into the wall as Starfire and Cyborg combined their efforts.  
  
Fenrir leapt to his feet before the two could strike again. He roared with all his might, making the Titans clutch their ears to shield themselves from the deafening sound.  
  
Raven was unaffected by the terrible beast's bellow. "Azareth Metrion ZINTHOS!" she yelled, and a black pillar of dark energy enveloped Fenrir. Struggling, against his might, Raven managed to hurl him against a wall before he was able to break the bond. The sheetrock crumbled before Fenrir's weight, leaving a decent sized hole in the wall.  
  
"Perfect," she mumbled sarcastically under her breath. Cyborg and Beast Boy stood closer to the blighted Robin, fearing that the demonic hound would attack him first.  
  
Starfire unleashed a volley of starbolts on the cloud of dust Fenrir should have been, making their house erupt in a more furious storm of debris and smoke, blinding the Titans.  
  
Fortunately for them, Raven sensed Fenrir's presence, veiled in the barrier of smoke.  
  
But before she could react, the hellish beast had bounded almost gracefully towards them, and latched onto Cyborg's cannon with his teeth.  
  
"Argh! Get off!" Cyborg yelled, trying to shake Fenrir off. The creature held his place, and sunk his teeth deeper into the complex mechanics of the hybrid. Although Cyborg was fortunate enough for Fenrir to bite the mechanical portion of his arm, it still hurt like hell.  
  
"Azareth Metrion Zinthos!" he heard, and Fenrir was yanked off of him by a black aura. The demonic creature struggled harder this time, and was able to break the telepath's mental bond. Raven ducked as Fenrir leapt towards her, his claws grazing her back. At first, Raven thought she was unharmed. Then she felt blood slowly sliding down her back where the claws had scraped her.  
  
Beast Boy shifted into the form of bull and charged at Fenrir. The demonic hound was just recovering from his rebound when the bull's horns struck him. He skidded back a couple feet and leapt at the green bull. Beast Boy knelt down on one knee and lowered his head, hoping his horns would encumber an attack. They didn't. As Fenrir tore the top of Beast Boy's back, wounds opened up like chasms. Beast Boy roared in pain, and transformed into turtle before those rendering claws could deal the slaying blow. Fenrir's fangs crunched against the hard shell, impeding any penetration.  
  
Cyborg's cannon was rendered inoperative, so it was up to Raven and Starfire to exterminate the apocalyptic demon. Right after Fenrir bit down on the green turtle, Starfire sent a torrent of starbolts aimed at Fenrir. But the creature's high-string reflexes allowed him to roll away nimbly, like a cat. Instead, the starbolts struck Beast Boy.  
  
Providentially, Beast Boy remained in turtle form long enough to withstand the blasts. Starfire yelped and rushed over to Beast Boy's side, expecting him to be harmed. Raven looked for Fenrir, as he had disappeared from sight.  
  
"Raven!" Beast Boy yelled from the still-clearing smoke, and dove at Raven. The Azareth ducked, but saw that Beast Boy was not aiming for her, but rather the demonic creature leaping towards her. She watched as the still normal Beast Boy tackled Fenrir, sending them both flying out the window.  
  
She ran over to the window from which they had fallen, and watched in horror as the two clashed as they fell. But she saw Beast Boy change at the spilt-second before hitting the ground, and she saw a green eagle soar gracefully above the scene.  
  
Fenrir, however was not so lucky; instead of sprouting wings, he had focused too much of his attention of his fight with Beast Boy. Thus, when Beast Boy transformed into an eagle, Fenrir found himself facing a pile of rocks.  
  
Very sharp rocks.  
  
Beast Boy and Raven watched as the demonic hound impaled himself on a rock formation, leaving his body stuck on it like a spear. Raven looked on queasily, trying not to look at the blood of Fenrir coating the formation as well as the surrounding areas. Holy shit, it was gross.  
  
"Eeeeeeewwwwwww!" Starfire said as she rushed over to Raven's side. She covered her eyes with her hands, doing her best not to stare at the abhorrent scene. But she found herself peeking through her fingers; just to make sure he was dead.  
  
"Shit...that hurt..." Beast Boy said as he returned from his eagle form. He wobbled, and then fell into Raven' arms, asleep from exhaustion. Raven didn't wake him or push him off; rather, she held him closer and carried him to his room.  
  
Cyborg went "Awwwww..." as he watched Raven carry the green shape shifter away. He was suddenly reminded of his painful condition when his entire right arm went haywire.  
  
"Son of a bitch!"  
  
Starfire ran over to him and began comforting him. As the night progressed and the Titans slept, all seemed at peace.  
  
Looks can be deceiving, however.  
  
As they all tended to their nightly affairs, unbeknownst to them, something began happening to the creature they presumed dead.  
  
The body of Fenrir lingered on the sharp rock formation, until a soft chorus began circling around him.  
  
"Wake from your slumber of death, Fenrir...rise from the ashes...become reborn...more powerful than before...kick the Grim Reaper in his sack...stay up late, Insomniac!"  
  
(Sorry, I couldn't help myself from throwing that in there)  
  
The loose skin covering Fenrir began to shift around, as if there were billions of worms crawling under his skin. The leathery skin expanded like a balloon, until the skin popped, sending a mass of blood and guts everywhere. From the remnants of his body, a new Fenrir rose from his own carcass.  
  
'Come to me, Fenrir...' the demonic hound heard in his head. He wanted nothing more than to tear those humans to tiny shreds, but he knew the master was speaking. So he resisted his vengeful instincts.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"I see you had some trouble, Fenrir," Lyrim said coolly. He was situated on top of a mountain overlooking Jump City, holding two vials and a body Fenrir recognized as his first kill on this plane of existence.  
  
Fenrir roared ferociously, signifying displeasure. Lyrim laughed.  
  
"Worry not Fenrir; you will be able to slay them in the most painful way possible. Once the time comes."  
  
Lyrim ignored the next roar, and instead placed the body perpendicular to the shadow of the moon. One minute to midnight. It was almost time.  
  
The moon soon aligned itself perfectly, denoting that it was midnight. Lyrim laughed malevolently, and poured the contents of the two vials onto the body of Slade Wilson.  
  
"Body of a criminal...blood of a hero...ashes of the bicentennial...Orion, return from the underworld!"  
  
Fenrir watched keenly as a red and black hole in the sky formed. It swirled demonically, until an anchor shot out from the hellish portal. The anchor shot through the body, impaling Slade's carcass. It kept going, as if were retrieving something. It was.  
  
The anchor stopped descending a few seconds later, and began slowly ascending like it had caught something. Although he could only see the head at first, as the whole being came into light, Lyrim shuddered joyfully at the pure evil of it.  
  
It was more demonic than Fenrir, and much bigger. It did not come entirely out of the ground; chains coming from the earth tied its arms together, keeping it bound to the earth. But what did show were about ten stories tall, with its bound arms extending the length of two Greyhound buses. Like something out of the stories, it was as demonic as the Dark Lord himself. It was chained because the spell book said that unchaining it for a second would allow it to destroy all existence.  
  
Its wings were much like Fenrir's except they were like arms with folded skin, much like a bat's. Claws poked out of the top arc and could gut a tank open like a fish. The wings rested on top of its shoulders, which were broad and hard; not even Fenrir would be able to penetrate its adamant skin.  
  
Its body was about as thick as twenty sequoias and sported a layer of scales. What was interesting about the scales was that they were each living creatures, ready to shoot off of it and attack any living thing.  
  
Instead of a head, it sort of had an elongation of a neck. A splitting mouth filled to the brim with uneven, rendering teeth, and it had two huge, prying eyes that could see through anything.  
  
Overall, it was pretty fucking scary.  
  
Lyrim held his hand out towards the unearthly fiend and commanded, "Orion!"  
  
The creature, which evidently was Orion, averted its piercing gaze to its summoner. It roared a raspy and haunting roar that held the screams of a million tortured souls, connoting a reply.  
  
Lyrim felt proud of himself. He pointed to the city resting over the hilltop commonly known as Jump City.  
  
"Destroy! Destroy it all! Burn every building, kill every soul!"  
  
Orion shook his head. In a petrifying and ghastly voice, it said, "Sandwich first! Then kill!"  
  
Lyrim was rendered speechless. Here was a creature that could bring about the Day of Reckoning, wanting a fucking sandwich!  
  
Exasperatedly, Lyrim conjured up a peanut butter and jelly sandwich using his powers. Orion stuck out his tongue, extending like a chameleon's to reach the sandwich.  
  
Lyrim could hear chewing as Orion ate the sandwich. The apocalyptic creature laughed and said,  
  
"Now kill!"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A mysterious, cloaked figure looked on in horror as the small, bearded man summoned the creature he feared most. And it was his entire fault, for he was the one who summoned the man in the first place.  
  
"I must redeem myself...but how?" he said to himself. He began thinking.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
While Robin was off dreaming in La-la land with Shania Twain and Elmo in the mountains somewhere, he began to hear distant explosions, followed by panicked screams and cries.  
  
He bolted awake and realized he was awake. He ran over to the window and, to his horror, saw frenzied mobs of people running around, most running away from the furious wildfires that were sweeping the city. Robin was still hypnotized by the colossal towers of flames when he saw a blast of pure dark energy collide with another building. This was not the kind of dark energy that Raven used; this was true, sheer evil energy that cried the cries of all of Hell's inhabitants, that froze your soul and threatened to never thaw it out.  
  
Robin's gaze was averted to the source of the energy: an apocalyptic, truly terrifying creature that stood anchored to a hilltop off in the distance. Although it was bound to the earth, it still managed to kill, firing off blasts of that spiteful energy from its right eye.  
  
Before he could react a round of the dark energy had hit the Tower. The ensuing shockwave knocked him off his feet and the Tower began to crumble away. But as quick as he had been knocked off his feet, Starfire, still clad in her nightgown, swept him up. She flew nimbly out of the still broken window, followed by a green pterodactyl carrying Cyborg.  
  
"Where's Raven!?" Robin asked frantically. Starfire pointed her left toe below them, and to his relief, Robin spied Raven gliding erratically below them.  
  
The five embittered friends flew quickly out of the city, doing their best to avoid being hit by those blasts of dark energy.  
  
"What are we doing running away?! We need to help!" Cyborg yelled. Robin agreed.  
  
Raven replied, "Do you honestly think we can take that thing!? Fighting it would be beyond stupid; it would be fucking suicide!"  
  
Everybody was surprised by Raven's language; it was not like her to curse. But it didn't stop them from gazing depressively at the blaze that consumed Jump City.  
  
"Let's at least put out the fires!" Robin said. They all concurred.  
  
Raven used her powers to blow the cap off of a fire hydrant. She directed the cascade of water at any building within its radius. Which was actually quite far, since she managed to put out quite a few fires.  
  
Beast Boy landed and set Cyborg down as he transformed into an elephant. He sucked some of the water out of the same fire hydrant Raven used and sprayed the water onto any nearby building.  
  
But before the other Titans could help, an all-too familiar roar echoed across.  
  
"It can't be..." Robin began to say, and jumped into Starfire's arms as she took off.  
  
"It is..." Raven said, and flew away with all her speed. Beast Boy didn't realize what everyone was looking at until he saw the last thing he wanted to see.  
  
Gliding through the pillars of smoke and debris was none other than Fenrir, this time sporting bat-like wings.  
  
"I thought we killed him!" Beast Boy said before retransforming into a pterodactyl, carrying Cyborg in his talons.  
  
"I did too!" Cyborg complained. Raven then yelled, "Look out!"  
  
Beast Boy ducked and swooped sharply, narrowly avoiding Fenrir's macabre claws. The demonic hound followed, banking sharply to avoid a flagpole sticking out of the side of a building. Beast Boy turned upwards sharply, almost losing Cyborg. Fenrir continued to swoop like him, gaining every second.  
  
Raven began to say, "Azareth Metrion..." before a blast of dark energy from the creature on the hilltop knocked her into the ground. She landed in an area of the park and lay unconscious in the grassy area.  
  
"Raven!" Robin and Starfire simultaneously yelled. Beast Boy hesitated a mere second to see if Raven was okay.  
  
But a mere second was all Fenrir needed.  
  
The airborne beast slashed Beast Boy rapidly all over his body, opening up dozens of deep cuts. Beast Boy staggered in his flight, but Fenrir was too quick. The demonic hound latched onto his back, pushed Cyborg off, and stuck his fist into Beast Bo's back. A hole you could have stuck a Coke can through appeared in Beast Boy's back.  
  
The green shape-shifter fell like a sack of bricks. Down and down he fell, and Robin and Starfire could only watch in horror as he and Cyborg approached the ground with quickening speed.  
  
They didn't look; all they heard was a sickening thud. Starfire ran over to Beast Boy's side and yelled, "No! Beast Boy!" as she held his head  
  
But it was no use. Starfire hung her head in sorrow as she suddenly felt Beast Boy become...very cold.  
  
Starfire had seen death before; but watching her friend die in her own arms was too much to bear. She erupted into a torrent of tears, not caring about Fenrir or that horrible creature...she didn't care.  
  
Cyborg was lucky enough to have landed on a thicket of bushes, thus sparing him from any serious damage. He ran over to his fallen comrade, but was unable to accept death.  
  
"No! He can't be dead! Beast Boy! You can't be dead! Wake up!" he yelled, tears silently streaming down his face.  
  
Their grieving was interrupted by Robin's screams off in the distance. They turned their heads and saw Robin being gripped in an aura of dark energy, held by the demonic beast bound on the hilltop. Robin struggled against the grip, but suddenly...stopped. In fact, all his movement had stopped. The black energy that had been gripping him was released, and he too fell silently, motionlessly to the ground.  
  
Starfire yelped and flew as fast as she could to her fallen friend. She caught him before he hit the ground.  
  
It was of no use. There was no heartbeat.  
  
Fenrir landed in front of Cyborg, taunting him. The infuriated hybrid growled, fueled by his rage and sorrow of his deceased friends. He blindly swung at Fenrir, who nimbly leaped aside. Cyborg tried to blast him with his sonic cannon, but realized a bit too late that it was broken.  
  
As Fenrir leaped at Cyborg, the hybrid's life began to flash before his eyes. His birth, his first bike ride, and his transformation into the half- robot he was today- all passed by until those claws made contact with him, dying his vision red.  
  
Lyrim smiled as his comrades befell the Titans. He looked happily at the grieving Tamaran and thought to himself, 'She is living proof that death is the ultimate liberate liberation. She feels nothing but pain. What better way to rid her of her pain than rid her of her life?'  
  
As Lyrim slowly walked towards his target, he motioned for Fenrir to let him kill this one. Reaching the anguished girl, he held his hand over her head.  
  
"Enlightened rule of the dead is preferable to the misguided failures of the living, miss Starfire, as you will now find out."  
  
His hand glowed black and Starfire slumped over without another breath. As she lay lifeless on top of her departed best friend, as the last bit of warmth left her, as her last thought echoed, as her heart beat its last beat, she was too blind from her own anguish to even notice her own departure.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Lyrim laughed evilly at the chaos he had caused. The whole city in ruins, he turned to Orion.  
  
"Orion!" he commanded. The homicidal creature turned his head and answered, "What?"  
  
"We are done for now. You may sleep."  
  
Orion gave one last terrifying roar before disappearing into the ground. Lyrim glanced at the bodies of the Titans. Knowing that it was not over, he took out a piece of paper and wrote something down on it. Lyrim motioned for Fenrir to follow him, and the genocidal pair hurried back to their lair, leaving the skeleton of Jump City.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The shady cloaked figure that had been watching Orion's reign of blood stealthily walked over to the City's late heroes.  
  
"They have not been dead too long. I can revive them," he said to himself, the hood masking his lips' movement.  
  
He raised his hand and began chanting incomprehensibly. A white aura burst from his hands and enveloped the entire City. As the luminance settled in, all the dead bodies and charred buildings woke up from their bereavement, as if they had only been sleeping.  
  
Beast Boy's eyes slowly opened and he saw the bloody hole in his stomach disappear. The green shape shifter continued observing as all his gashes closed up, and he was able to breathe again.  
  
"Dude...how the hell..."  
  
As the other Titans woke as well, they all began asking the same question: "What the hell had just happened?"  
  
Raven, who had been the only living Titan, rubbed her eyes as she returned into consciousness. Resting on one knee, she saw the white glow around her fade, and turned her head to see who had revived them. Upon seeing who it was, she groaned, "Oh no..."  
  
The cloaked person fell to one knee. Waking a thousand dead really took its toll.  
  
Starfire pushed herself off Robin and rushed to the kneeling person. "Was it you who woke us?"  
  
The figure nodded under his head. As Robin studied the mysterious person, his gaze was averted to a piece of paper lying on the grass. No, it wasn't paper; it was papyrus. The masked leader picked it up and read it silently. He frowned at what he saw, and tucked it into his pocket for later studying.  
  
Cyborg rubbed his head as he too arose. "Oooooh my head. I was just in a really hot place that had fire everywhere and little red people poked me with sharp sticks..."  
  
The cloaked person stood up, having recovered, and addressed the entire group, "My name is Izevm...I am here to help. Orion cannot be defeated by any normal means. I wish to aid you in getting rid of him." He lowered his hood; revealing a pale, yet weathered face. He had deep, black eyes and ear length jet-black hair.  
  
Raven, whom was still kneeling, suddenly turned her head away, avoiding his gaze, and suddenly became very interested in an obscure blade of grass. If you looked really closely at it, you could see a tiny hole in the blade of grass.  
  
Robin walked over and shook Izevm's hand. "We'd be glad to have you help us. As you probably noticed, we didn't have too much luck escaping, let alone fighting it."  
  
Izevm shook back. "Robin, right?"  
  
"That's me."  
  
"Interesting..."  
  
Beast Boy frowned. Something about that name Izevm rang a bell. And Raven's behavior was a bit unsettling. There was just something about this guy he didn't like.  
  
Izevm walked over to Raven. She did her best to ignore him.  
  
"Raven...how long has it been?" he asked gently. Raven couldn't keep silent, and said, "Not long enough."  
  
"Why must you still be so spiteful?" he asked, a tone of hurt in his voice. He held out his hand to her. Raven felt guilty for hurting him, so she took it. Izevm pulled her to his feet and gazed longingly into her eyes. Raven didn't look back.  
  
Beast Boy was positively fuming; you could literally see the smoke coming out of his ears.  
  
Oblivious to Beast Boy's jealousy, Cyborg walked over to Izevm and said, "Since you're going to be helping us out, why don't you stay at out place?"  
  
"No!" Beast Boy and Raven yelled simultaneously. Robin considered it, and said, "Sure, why not."  
  
"But..." Beast Boy pleaded. He suddenly grew angry with Robin. Sure, Izevm may be helping us defeat Orion, and he may have brought everybody back to life, and may have restored the city...  
  
Ah, hell with it. Beast Boy couldn't think of a reason for him not to say that didn't involve him or Raven.  
  
Starfire walked over and said, "Let us return home to celebrate our newest friend!"  
  
'Newest friend my ass...' Beast Boy spitefully thought. A thought resonated in his head, 'I heard that.'  
  
Shit. He could read minds too.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Robin, what does that paper say?" Starfire asked as Robin pulled a parchment out of his pocket. Robin frowned and said, "That's what I'm trying to figure out..."  
  
"Let me see," Starfire said, and peered at the piece of paper. It read:  
  
I have been watching you.  
If you wish to find my location's identity,  
Evil will be the key.  
  
A fallen emperor will begin your quest,  
Atbash will continue, but not the rest.  
Keep in mind of or relating to a line,  
And a French cryptologist will prove the worth of your mind.  
  
M-M-U-Q-C  
  
"This is very confusing," Starfire said as she finished reading. Robin nodded and said, "I know...it's all too cryptic. Those last letters are obviously what we want to decode, but the rest is too confusing."  
  
The two continued looking over the paper for a while, just glad to be in each other's company again.  
  
Meanwhile...  
  
Raven headed into the shower. One, she needed it, and two, she wanted, or rather needed, to be as far away from Izevm as possible.  
  
See, when Raven still lived on Azareth, Izevm was her neighbor. They had been best friends ever since they first met. But as they aged, they became...more than friends. But it didn't work out very well, since Izevm was constantly summoning monsters. So, she did what any girl in a relationship would have done in her place.  
  
Izevm was heartbroken. Soon after, he disappeared, never to be seen again. Raven felt guilty; she knew it was her fault.  
  
But still, he acted like nothing had happened. On the flight back to the Tower, he had even tried to hold her hand. She wanted to slap him, but instead shook him off and flew further away.  
  
He was a pervert as well; with every passing second near him, she became more and more convinced dumping him was the best possible choice.  
  
She stripped down and turned the faucet on. She stepped into the shower stall and sighed as the hot water caressed her back.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Beast Boy plugged the cord into his guitar from his amplifier. He tested it, making sure the sound was what he wanted, and began playing "Angel of Death" by Slayer.  
  
With the distortion maxed out and the volume moderately loud, it didn't take long for Cyborg to complain about being too loud.  
  
"Beast Boy! Will you shut the hell up?!" Cyborg yelled over the din of Beast Boy's playing. When he didn't, Cyborg walked over to him and pulled on his earring.  
  
"Oww!! That fucking hurt, you stupid..." Beast Boy trailed, clutching his now bleeding cartilage. Thank god he didn't pull on the bolt in his eyebrow.  
  
"Now shut up!" Cyborg yelled. Beast Boy groaned and said, "Gee, glad to see you love me too."  
  
He ran over to the bathroom to find something to impede the bleeding. He opened the door and grabbed a paper towel from the stack that had been resting on the counter.  
  
"Ow ow ow ow ow," he said as he tried to stop the bleeding. It was just then he realized that Raven was in the same bathroom as him.  
  
"Beast Boy! What the hell are you doing!?" Raven screamed frantically from the shower, and tried to hide herself from the eyes of the green headbanger. Beast Boy jumped, unaware of her presence, and couldn't keep himself from staring at her.  
  
"I'm taking a shower! Do you fucking mind!?" she yelled, and telekinetically threw him, literally, out of the bathroom. He landed on his ear.  
  
"Shit, that hurt," he said, taking no notice of the blood on the floor from his cut ear.  
  
'Dude, was I just in the same bathroom as Raven?' he said to himself, and found himself replaying that scene over and over again.  
  
"How about knocking next time?" Raven's voice said slightly irritably. Beast Boy turned around and saw her standing in the doorframe with a bathrobe on.  
  
"Sorry...ow, shit...about that," he apologized, wincing at his painful wound. Raven lost all her annoyance and knelt down next to Beast Boy.  
  
"Are you...okay?" she began to say, and then saw his gash. "Oh my god! What happened?"  
  
"Cyborg pulled on my earring," Beast Boy said. Raven frowned, then smiled slightly as she put her arm around him. "How about you and me go get revenge?"  
  
Beast Boy snaked his arms around her waist and pulled her in tighter. "Sounds good."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Okay! Sorry if it was a little long. Okay...  
  
Next time: Raven and Beast Boy get their revenge on Cyborg! Oooh, what will they do? Also, Izevm continues to flirt with Raven. But instead of getting mad, Beast Boy uses his head and decided to serenade Raven...on the guitar! Get ready for major fluffyness! Robin tries to break the code, but when Starfire reminds him of a past obsession, he realizes what's important. DOUBLE FLUFF!! Hell, I'm an overachiever ^_^  
  
POLL TIME!!!!!!!!!!  
  
What couple should I focus on in the next couple of chapters?  
  
Cyborg and Carmen Robin and Starfire Beast Boy and Raven.  
  
Cast your vote! CoughBBRaecough 


	8. The Gift from the Pit Part 3

Poor Twisted Me Chapter 7  
  
Everybody congratulate me! I had my first heat stroke on Thursday! It was at a track meet and I ran the mile (5:49 thank you very much) and when I was done I sort of fell down and couldn't get up. It was weird because everybody sort of crowded around me and one guy kicked me in the head to see if I was faking. I wanted to reach out and punch him, but I couldn't...it was weird.  
  
Anyways, I tallied everybody's votes and the results were: 

Beast Boy Raven: 11 

Robin Starfire: 2 

Cyborg Carmen: ZERO!!!!!  
  
But since I'm such a nice person, I'll do RobStar and BBRae. Screw Cyborg! And judging by some of your reviews, you all loved chapter 6 the most. Guess I'll have to outdo that one   
  
This chapter's poll: Who's your favorite villain in this story so far? (Izevm's not a villain; he's just an ass) Lyrim Fenrir Orion  
  
Time to answer reviews!  
  
AngleofDarkness: YOU MISPELLED ANGEL!!!!! Let's all throw rocks at you! Just kidding. Yeah, I will try to stick in some more Starfire Robin. But with Izevm's arrival, there will probably be more BB Raven.  
  
TsukasaSIGN: Yeah, Raven doesn't seem like she would swear a lot. But hell, anyone could if someone's in the bathroom while their taking a shower. BBRAE FOREVER!!!!  
  
Warprince2000- Hey! You said something different! Congratulations! Did you really think it was that good? I thought it was pretty god, but not my best!  
  
PrincessCat- NO!!!! I WANT MY BROWNIE POINTS!!!! Kidding again. You bet your ass I'll make one hell of a fluffy pie. I'll get those brownie points back...and why would I hate you? I love all my reviewers! Except for flamers, but I haven't had any of those yet   
  
ScarletAngel68- You sure as hell called it! I was reading your review and I was like, "holy shit!" You predicted the whole thing! Anyway, I thought that Insomniac reference was funny too. Orion was my favorite...I was laughing my ass off while I was writing it.  
  
Rukato86- Yay! It was deep! Yeah, Izevm is a real ass, which will become more apparent in this chapter.  
  
Hey Nonny Mouse- Yeah, that cough was nasty, haha. Things will get better for the Titans; but for the time being they will SUFFER!!! Muahahaha.  
  
StarfireRobin4ever- You know, if you had had 14 "Starfire/Robin"s instead of 13, I would have listened to you. Gotcha! You were overruled, but the prospect of having a BIGGER fan is too enticing. So I'll do both.  
  
g- Wow, that's the best penname I've ever seen in my entire life. I am moving, hold your horses.  
  
Patriot 1- YEAH!!! BBRAE FOREVER!  
  
moezy-chan- yeah, I was worried some people would get too depressed from their deaths to read the rest...but I was wrong! Yeah, I will do both.  
  
Kestrel- You can say it! You found it online, but who cares! YAY REVENGE!!!!  
  
WeasleyGirl-Yeah- Thanks! Yeah, I wanted Beast Boy to be into music so...ummmm...he could do...stuff...actually, Fallen Cherub will play a big part to come in this story. And I still have a shit load of ideas. I'm like an idea fountain...except I'm not...  
  
Metallikid- hey, if you were speechless, then how could you review? Vote taken!  
  
By the way, the song Beast Boy plays to Raven is called "Roulette" by System of a Down. Go out and but the CD, download it, or steal it from an old lady (not) because it's a hella awesome song and it will make more sense if you know what it is. Also, when Raven meets the rest of Fallen Cherub, just because she becomes acquainted with them does not mean romance. I just don't want any people getting mad because they misinterpreted friendship for romance.  
  
ON WITH THE CHAPTER!!!  
  
"Evil is the key...what does he mean?" Robin said as he sat at his desk, studying the note that had been left for him. It was obviously in code, but he didn't know which cipher to apply or what key to use. True, it said 'evil is the key', but all the ciphers that he knew of that required keys that were numbers.  
  
"Robin?" Starfire's voice called out. Robin didn't turn around, only said, "What Star?"  
  
"It's time for breakfast."  
  
"I can't Star. I have to figure out this note and..." Robin began to say, before Starfire walked over to him and slammed her hand down on his desk.  
  
"Robin, you are acting like you did with Slade! If you continue this, you will forget all about us! About me! Robin, I thought you realized how much you I mean to you! How much you mean to me!"  
  
If this had been three years ago, Robin would have ignored her. But now...  
  
"You're right Star. You are more important to me than anything else. I'll never forget that," Robin said, and grasped her hand. Star smiled and hugged him.  
  
"Let's go eat breakfast, Robin."  
  
Beast Boy slammed the snooze button on his alarm. He yawned loudly and got up from the mess of sheets and blankets that few would consider a bed.  
  
Beast Boy opened his dresser and looked at his options. It was going to be warm to day, so he threw on a black Slayer T-shirt and a pair of black cargo shorts. He pulled on his favorite pair of wristbands; both were black, one with the anarchy symbol embossed in red, and the other bearing the name "Corrosion of Conformity".  
  
Trudging down to the kitchen, half-asleep, he fumbled for the coffee maker. It was another habit he had picked up.  
  
As he added creamer and sugar to his coffee, he felt arms from behind him hug him in a tight embrace.  
  
"Morning," came Raven's voice. Beast Boy held his cup of coffee with one hand and used the other to grasp Raven's hands around his waist.  
  
"Mrnhg" Beast Boy mumbled incoherently. Raven assumed this was pre-coffee language for "Good morning".  
  
Raven, for some reason, had stopped wearing her trademark leotard, swapping it out for normal clothes. She sported a black spaghetti strap and checkered drawstring pajama bottoms right now.  
  
Raven continued to hug Beast Boy from behind as he sipped his coffee. Once he was done, he stretched energetically and faced Raven.  
  
"Hi," Beast Boy said affectionately, and softly pecked Raven on the cheek.  
  
Raven smiled. The two walked over to the table, holding hands, and sat down, their legs tired of standing. Her attention was averted to the calendar resting on the refrigerator. Today's date was circled in red marker and said, "Practice".  
  
That most likely meant the band was practicing here. Raven didn't know why, but Beast Boy wanted them to practice here, saying it was "roomier".  
  
Oh well. At least she would finally get to meet all of the band members in person.  
  
"Good morning, Raven," a soft, slightly tired voice called out. Raven turned around and saw it was Izevm.  
  
"Oh...morning," Raven said softly. Izevm frowned slightly, as if disappointed. He walked over to the pantry and pulled out a box of cereal. He had grown quite accustomed to Earth foods very quickly.  
  
Izevm sat down next to Raven and began pouring the cereal into a bowl. For some reason, he didn't eat cereal with milk.  
  
Raven did her best to look away from Izevm. Beast Boy noticed this, and made a mental note to later ask her what had happened between them.  
  
Raven suddenly flinched, and Beast Boy saw Izevm's hand on her knee. Boy, was he mad.  
  
Raven pushed his hand off and looked for anything interesting that she could use to avoid Izevm. He really was acting like an ass.  
  
Beast Boy watched with growing anger as Izevm repeatedly tried to touch Raven in some form or another. But instead of getting up and kicking his sorry ass, which he wanted to do most, he stood up and walked away. Raven watched with disappointment as he walked off, most likely to his room.  
  
She got up and walked into the living room, trying to avoid Izevm. She flipped on the news, which all had something to do with an approaching apocalypse. She didn't blame them; whatever had happened yesterday was not something to take lightly.  
  
"In other news, local authorities have issued a hurricane watch in northeast Jump..." the announcer said, before Raven lost focus and turned it off.  
  
The sound of Robin and Starfire walking in interrupted her thoughts. She turned her head and saw them walking, hand in hand, towards the door.  
  
"Where are you guys going?" Raven asked. Robin looked at her and said, "Me and Star are going to go out for breakfast. We'll be back in a couple hours."  
  
'Great,' Raven thought, 'more quality time with Izevm. This just sucks ass.'  
  
"Open A sting...first fret, second string...slide to fifth fret, fifth string...eighth fret, second string...easy enough to remember," Beast Boy said to himself as he scribbled something down on a piece of paper.  
  
"Beast Boy, you are such a romantic," he said contentedly. He heard Raven walking past his room and into hers, and he decided there was no better time than now. He picked up his guitar and went through it one last time before exiting his room.  
  
Raven picked up her book and began reading. All of a sudden, she heard a knock. Praying it wasn't Izevm, she walked over and answered it. To her surprise, it was Beast Boy, and he was holding his guitar.  
  
"Beast B..." she said, but he interrupted her, grinning. "I have a surprise for you!"  
  
Raven didn't know what to expect, so she just sat down on her bed. Beast Boy sat down next to her and held his guitar.  
  
"Watch this," he said, and began playing a melancholy riff. Raven watched interestingly as he strummed slowly along to the beat.  
  
"I have a problem that I cannot explain. I have no reason why it should have been so plain. Have no questions, but I sure have excuse. I lack the reason why I should be so confused," Beast Boy sang softly. Raven gasped. Of all things, the last thing she would have expected was this. She smiled lovingly at him.  
  
"I know...how I feel when I'm around you...I don't know...how I feel when I'm around you..." he continued.  
  
"Left a message right in a bit of use. I have some pictures; the wild might be the deuce. Today you saw, you saw me, you explained...playing the show while running down the plain," Beast Boy sang sweetly.  
  
Okay, the lyrics weren't all that good, but it's the thought that counts. Beast Boy repeated the chorus, and strummed one last note before ending the song.  
  
Upon finishing, Beast Boy found himself in a tight lip lock with Raven. Raven snaked her arms around his waist, pulling him in as tight as she could. Breaking the kiss, Raven rested her head on his shoulder and gushed, "This was so sweet of you! I love you!"  
  
Beast Boy stroked her hair as she continued embracing him.  
  
'Beast Boy, you are so quixotic,' he thought to himself.  
  
-Downtown Jump City-  
  
Robin and Starfire browsed through the eclectic mix of random shops and stores littering the city. Starfire didn't really pay any attention to where they ate; just as long as they ate in the same place.  
  
"How about IHOP?" Robin asked, pointing to one. Starfire didn't care much for it, seeing as the first time she went there she mistook the jelly donuts for a monster. The result was not very funny for the manager of the chain, but excruciatingly funny for everyone else.  
  
Despite Starfire's now ever-present fear of jelly donuts, she agreed to go in. They seated themselves at a table and looked at the menus absentmindedly.  
  
"Hey Star, you want some pancakes?" Robin asked nonchalantly. Starfire nodded and rested her hand on Robin's knee. The masked leader reached down and squeezed her hand tightly.  
  
After a couple minutes, a preppy waitress walked up to their table, her demeanor telling them that she really didn't want to be here right now.  
  
"Can I help you?" she said flatly. Robin looked up from his menu and said, "Yeah, I'll take the buttermilk pancakes and milk, please."  
  
"Whatever. You?" she said, pointing her pen at Starfire. The Tamaran pondered for a minute, much to the waitress's derision.  
  
"You might want to order sometime today, miss," she said spitefully.  
  
Starfire shrugged, ignoring her bitchy attitude. "I'll have the same, please."  
  
"Mmmkay," she said dully, and leaved.  
  
The two chatted idly about a few topics before the waiter returned, with the wrong order, which Robin took notice of.  
  
"Uh, Miss? I ordered buttermilk pancakes, not waffles."  
  
The waitress rolled her eyes. "What're ya gonna do bout it?" she said, and walked off.  
  
-Noon, Titans Tower-  
  
Ben grasped his amp and guitar as he rang the doorbell of Titans Tower. David held his bass idly and crouched down. A couple seconds passed by, and Beast Boy answered the door.  
  
"Right on time," he said, grinning. Bobbo rolled his portable drum set over and slapped him a hi-five. He was about to say something, but he noticed a spot of gray lipstick on Beast Boy's cheek. He grinned and said, "What's that," pointing to the mark.  
  
Beast Boy gently touched where Bobbo was pointing, and realized that was Raven's lipstick. He rubbed it off, but not before Dave could make an inappropriate remark.  
  
"Shut up, Dave," Beast Boy joked, playfully punching his shoulder. He opened the door all the way, allowing his friends to fully enter.  
  
As they all observed their surroundings, Ben took notice of an unfamiliar figure meditating in the corner.  
  
"Who's that?" he asked, pointing to the meditating figure. Beast Boy's upper lip curled in disgust. "Izevm. He's helping us out," he said, his voice dripping with repugnance.  
  
The other guys noticed Beast Boy's umbrage, but decided against pushing further. They carried their equipment into the basement, and began setting up.  
  
Raven heard the sound of equipment being moved about, and as the sound moved into the basement, she remembered that Fallen Cherub was practicing here. She decided now was a good time to become acquainted with Beast Boy's friends.  
  
As she walked lethargically into the basement, she watched as they began setting up their equipment.  
  
'What're you guys doing?" she asked imperturbably. David turned around, having not yet met Raven. Beast Boy's eyes lit up at the sight of the dark telepath, and walked over to her.  
  
"Guys, this is Raven. Raven, these guys are the rest of the band," Beast Boy said, linking his arm in Raven's. Leading her down the stairs, he introduced each one individually.  
  
A tall, skinny man with a stubby brown goatee a hairless head walked over. He sported a white wife beater and puffy black pants. His arms were covered in tattoos, each one a symbol of some sort. The top of his ears sported multiple rings, each a different size or color. He looked like he was in his early twenties.  
  
"Hi, I'm Rob Goncalves. The guys call me Bobbo. I play drums," he said in a deep, slightly raspy voice. As he talked, Raven could see a bolt in his tongue. He held out his hand, which she shook.  
  
"Raven. Nice to meet you," she said, her voice a little less monotonous than usual. He smiled and replied, "Ditto."  
  
A tall and slightly rotund man whom Raven recognized as Ben from their previous meeting walked over. He had two bolts in his chin, similar to David Drainman's (the singer for Disturbed) and a small scar on his cheek Raven had failed to notice last time. He was clad in a loose black long sleeve and baggy black jean shorts, and had a head full of long and thin red hair, which he kept in a smooth ponytail. He smiled and stuck out his hand.  
  
"Remember me?" he asked, which Raven did. She nodded and shook his hand, which was hard and calloused.  
  
"I do. Ben Howe, right?" she said, and he nodded. "The guys call me Pyro. I sing and play rhythm guitar."  
  
Raven raised an eyebrow at this, and asked, "Any special reason for the name?"  
  
His eyes darted back and forth, as if nervous, but quickly stopped. "No. Just liked the sound of it."  
  
Raven nodded. Beast Boy pulled her over to the next guy, who was busily setting up the wiring for the amplifiers. Beast Boy prodded him on the back, and he looked up. "What?"  
  
"Raven, this is Dave Mustaine. He plays drums," Beast Boy said. The man was also tall and skinny, but didn't wear a shirt, which exposed a large retrospective of engravings and tattoos. He was completely bald, but Raven was sure he shaved his head, since he looked no older than twenty. He had no bodily piercings, which seemed a little out of place. He stood up and stuck his hand out like all the others had done.  
  
"Sorry. I got a little caught up in the gear. Charmed," he said, shaking her hand. Raven smiled slightly, and asked, "Don't you have nickname?"  
  
Dave laughed. "No, but in third grade everybody called me Steak. I have no idea why, but it stuck with me until high school."  
  
Raven grinned a little wider. Despite their intimidating look, these guys were really nice. It was a nice shift of gears from Izevm.  
  
Beast Boy unlinked his arm from Raven's and ran over to his guitar, which sat perched on a stand in the corner. He picked it up and pulled the extremely low hanging strap over his head.  
  
"Guys, let's play for Raven! She can be our first groupie!" Beast Boy exclaimed. Raven rolled her eyes, even though she knew Beast Boy knew she would never become a groupie for any band.  
  
Ben picked up his Gibson flying-V, and stood in front of the microphone. "Or maybe she can watch you fail miserably in your attempt to play guitar!"  
  
"Hey, I could kick your ass guitar-wise."  
  
"I know that."  
  
Dave and Bobbo thought it was a good idea. Dave seated himself at his drum set, and Bobbo picked up his bass.  
  
Raven interestedly eyed the equipment in front of her. The drum set was very nice. It was a Tama, with a double-bass pedal and Zildjian cymbals. The bass guitar was a sunburst five-string, sporting multiple stickers with obscene yet humorous sayings.  
  
A fast tempo double bass line interrupted her study of their instruments. Dave continued pounding away, shortly followed by a bass line and then a speedy guitar riff.  
  
They were pretty good. The lyrics were hard to make out, but that was the only problem Raven had. She continued watching intently, when Robin's voice interrupted them.  
  
"Beast Boy! Raven! Team meeting!" he yelled out. Beast Boy and Raven both knew that this meant something was up.  
  
They both got up from their places. Beast Boy yelled to his friends, "Guys, I'll be back real quick. Just don't break anything and I'll be back ASAP, mkay?"  
  
Ben nodded, and set his guitar down. Raven saw the three chatting idly as she exited the basement and entered the living room.  
  
Izevm stood in the center of the living room, enjoying the attention he was getting.  
  
Robin spoke up. "Guys, Izevm is going to tell who it was that attacked us yesterday. Izevm, go ahead."  
  
The Azareth conjured up a picture of a short, bearded man with gargantuan muscles. Beast Boy registered the picture as the man who had told him all that junk about nobody caring for him. Izevm began explaining,  
  
"This is Lyrim. Not much is known about him, except he is extremely powerful in both magic and fighting. His plethora of spells and summonings are infinite. He can possess humans, enter their dreams, revive the dead, heal any and all wounds, and summon beings from other planes of existence."  
  
A new picture came up. All the Titans remembered it as the demonic hound they thought they killed.  
  
"This is Fenrir. He was originally a creature from Azareth that made its purpose in life to kill and kill again. He was banished to the underworld, but Lyrim has brought him into this world. Fenrir now serves Lyrim unconditionally, and when he does what is told he is allowed to kill more. His six eyes can detect infared light, can see in the dark, and detect warmth in a living being. His huge fangs contain a terminal poison that can maim and kill a living being in under an hour. Fortunately, his claws do not have this poison. He can sprout wings at will that allow him to fly at ridiculous speeds. His most lethal ability, however, is the ability to come back from the dead, which eliminates the chance of destroying him completely."  
  
Another picture came up. The Titans remembered this one well. This creature was the one who had destroyed Jump City.  
  
"This is Orion. Those chains bind him to the depths of hell, for if released, he can and will destroy all life in an instant. Lyrim, who can control him to an extent, has summoned him. The only thing preventing his total power over him is Orion's unconquerable need for sandwiches. By far the most deadly of the three, Orion can destroy entire cities with blasts of dark energy. His powers extend to the ability to destroy any shards of sanity in a being, the ability to control minds, the ability to mold physical forms to his pleasing, and the ability to cause a person unimaginable emotional torture. Orion draws his powers from Satan himself. Those scales at the lower end of his body, called aenimas, can detach themselves from his body and become individual monsters."  
  
"Creepy," Beast Boy remarked. Robin nodded.  
  
Cyborg was creeped out, but not intimidated. "How can we beat them?"  
  
Izevm looked at him. "Orion cannot be defeated. However, he will return to Hell once his summoner, in this case Lyrim, either is defeated or runs out of sandwiches. Fenrir must be banished to another plane of existence, for his resurrective powers will allow him to come back from the dead, each time more powerful than the last. Lyrim must be outsmarted, for he cannot be defeated in a physical fight."  
  
Robin couldn't believe that it was unable to beat someone in a physical fight, but he kept his mouth shut.  
  
"How do we outsmart him?" Starfire asked eagerly.  
  
Izevm pondered for a minute, and then said, "Well..."

  
  
CLIFFHANGER!!!! Aren't I evil? Sorry if this chapter was a little boring. I had writer's block. But I had the fluff in there at least. There will be more fluff to come, so don't kill me just yet.  
  
Next time: A hurricane destroys the power in Titans Tower, leaving the Titans and Fallen Cherub with nothing to do until the power comes back. Hmm, I smell fluff... Also, Dave helps Robin crack Lyrim's code, and the Titans prepare to seek out Lyrim.  
  
Adios! 


	9. The Gift from the Pit Part 4

Poor Twisted Me Chapter 8  
  
Guess what! In an effort to be more interactive with my beloved reviewers, I am holding a contest! Each chapter I will post three questions. They could be about the story or be about anything. Anyone that gets three out of three correct will get the chapter dedicated to them, and everyone that gets two out of the three will get an honorable mention. Everybody that gets none of the three will have ROCKS THROWN AT THEM!!!  
  
This chapter's questions:

1) What show was referenced during Fenrir's resurrection?

2) From where did I get Fenrir's name?

3) How many stories have I written prior to this one?  
  
Okay! Time to answer reviews!  
  
ScarletAngel68- In a perfect world, that would be true. But, the Titans don't live in a perfect world. You'll just have to see what happens... Yeah, I saw a bunch of stickers like that in a magazine my friend had. Some were pretty funny. And you can't have Beast Boy as your boyfriend! He belongs to Raven, at least in this story. Don't worry; he will eventually get to go mano-a-mano with Izevm. But not for a while!  
  
Rukato86- Yeah, having a heat stroke was kind of funny. It wasn't fun, but it was funny. Heehee. Yeah, Izevm is a slime ball. But I promise you all that before this story is over, Beast Boy will get to kick Izevm's ass.  
  
Warprince2000- Back to the same thing again! Maybe it's because it wasn't as good as the last...  
  
PrincessCat- YAAAAY!!! I GOT MY BROWNIE POINTS BACK!!! Hell yeah, System of a Down is awesome. My favorite song from them is "Pictures". It's hella weird, but still hella awesome. Hella hella hella.  
  
Metallikid- Yeah, giving Orion a sandwich fetish was a fun part to throw in. Who knows, maybe I'll make Lyrim obsessed over carrots...Actually, I won't. But it would have been funny nonetheless. Yeah, my spellchecker is a little fucked up, so that extra 'd' found its way in. As for "Battery", you can't get them all to like a story. So just stick to who does like it and give them what they want. And above all else, make sure to piss all your flamers off! They don't have to like it, but you can still make them suffer for it!!!  
  
Moezy-chan- Really? I thought it was. I had originally intended it to be one big fluff, but I had writer's block, and I ended up taking a different route. But it still worked out.  
  
Kestrel- Yeah, we all hate those preppy IHOP waitresses. Almost as much as those preppy Denny's waitresses...God, they're all over the place...And yeah, there will hopefully be fluff in this chapter. But I still have to make the chapter fit.  
  
Guest- God, everybody hates Izevm! Which is good, because I PROMISE ALL MY READERS THAT EVENTUALLY BEAST BOY AND IZEVM WILL FIGHT! But I'll stop there so I don't give away too much of the plot.  
  
Voices-in-my-head0304- Yeah, the Internet sure can be a bitch sometimes. It's okay; I still love you like I do with all my reviewers. As for the names, they will all be part of the contests I will be holding. I will give the answers on the next chapter, so you will find out where I got Fenrir from in the next chapter. Izevm and Lyrim are a little harder...actually, their damn near impossible if you don't know cryptology. Which I do. Heehee.  
  
Darkfire- Yeah! BBRae forever! By the way, my favorite color is black, so I will graciously accept your 'black' roses.  
  
On with the story!

* * *

-Titans Tower-  
  
Izevm continued, "...I don't know."  
  
All the Titans groaned. Robin spoke up, "So, you're telling me that we have no way to defeat these guys?"  
  
"Not that I know of, no."  
  
Cyborg was about to say something when it started raining intensely. The winds outside picked up speed, causing the trees outside to bend and twist. The lights flickered, and died.  
  
"Well this just sucks!" Beast Boy said, unable to see a foot in front of him in the pitch-black darkness. Starfire lit up the room with a starbolt, allowing the Titans and Izevm to see clearly.  
  
A sudden pounding from the basement came. A couple seconds later, Dave, Bobbo, and Ben entered the living room.  
  
"Damn, it can get creepy down there," Dave said. Looking around, he whistled. "Hurricane must've struck a power line. We could be powerless for quite a while."  
  
Robin, who was unfamiliar with Beast Boy's band, was unsure of what to do. "Umm, do we know you?"  
  
Ben looked at Robin funny, and then snapped his fingers. "That's right, Beast hasn't introduced you yet."  
  
Robin scratched his head. "Beast?"  
  
"That's me," Beast Boy said, grinning. "I know, stupid. Robin, this is Dave, Bobbo, and Ben. I'm in their band."  
  
Robin raised an eyebrow. "Since when have you been in a band?"  
  
"Since a couple weeks ago."  
  
"That might explain your new tattoos and all that metal sticking out of your head."  
  
Raven interrupted them before they could argue further. "We have better things to do than argue. Since we're going to be stuck here for a while, let's all find something to do. Robin, get acquainted with these guys, because they're not going to be able to leave until the hurricane's over."  
  
Beast Boy was suddenly struck with an idea. He watched Cyborg get up off the sofa, and decided now was a good time for revenge.  
  
Beast Boy stuck his foot out in front of Cyborg, who didn't notice it in the darkness. You can imagine how it went from there.  
  
Raven couldn't help but giggle as Cyborg tripped and fell, literally, flat on his face. As the hybrid looked around to see who had tripped him, he was answered with, "Hey, you pulled my earring."  
  
Raven walked down the hall, intending to go to her room. Sure, it was the creepiest place in the entire Tower, but it was where she wanted to be most right now. However, the sheer darkness didn't make for an easy trip.  
  
"Ow!" she yelled as she bumped into a wall. She was rubbing her head when she felt a calloused hand grab hers. She immediately recognized it as Beast Boy's.  
  
"Need a little help?" he asked. Raven nodded and said, "Mm-hm."  
  
So Beast Boy clasped her hand and slowly led her into the hallway, since he already knew the layout by heart anyway. Before long, Raven found herself back in the sanctity of her room.  
  
"Thanks, Beast Boy," she said, and lightly pecked him on the cheek. Beast Boy grinned, even though Raven couldn't see it in the dim candle light of her room.

* * *

"So, you're telling me you guys got your ass kicked by a midget with a beard, a dog with leathery skin, and a creature with a sandwich fetish?" Ben said incredulously. Robin groaned. It was still true, save its gross under-exaggeration.  
  
"Basically, yeah," Robin replied. He sighed, still not sure which was Ben and which was Dave.  
  
"I think I'm going to work on that riddle some more," Robin said, and got up. Bobbo's head snapped up, and he asked, "What riddle?"  
  
Robin answered, "Lyrim left us some kind of code, and I can't crack it. It makes no sense."  
  
Bobbo lit up. "Can I see it?"  
  
Robin raised an eyebrow, seeing as the last person he expected to figure the code out was a death-metalhead named "Bobbo".  
  
"Sure, I guess." Robin fished the parchment out of his pocket (I don't know if he has pockets in the show, but for all intents and purposes, he does in my story) and handed it to Bobbo.  
  
After a couple seconds of looking over it, Bobbo said, "Well, he's obviously not heavily experienced in cryptography."  
  
"What do you mean?" Robin asked. Bobbo looked over at him and said, "He's using very simple ciphers here. He's even telling you which ones to use. The only part he made any effort to disguise was they key."  
  
"But it said 'evil was the key'," Robin said, now thoroughly confused. Bobbo gestured for him to sit down, which he did.  
  
"This might take a while to explain, so pay attention. The line 'A fallen emperor will begin your quest' is referring to simplest of all substitution ciphers-the Caesar Cipher. In the Caesar Cipher, you basically move the letters down a certain number of spots, with a key telling you the number of spots to move the letter down. For instance, suppose the key was 2. Then 'a' would become 'c', 'b' would become 'd', and so forth. Do you follow?"  
  
Robin nodded. Bobbo took a breath and continued.  
  
"To apply the Caesar Cipher to those letters he gave us, we need a key. It states that evil is the key, but we need a number between 1 and 26 as a key. Therefore, the word 'evil' is not a valid key. He is most likely using what's called the Multiplication Cipher, in which letters equal numbers, like a=1, b=2, et cetera. So, you would just convert each of the letters of 'evil' to numbers. E equals 5, V equals 22, I equals 9, and L equals 12. So, evil would be the number '522912'."  
  
Robin butted in, "But I thought the key had to be between 1 and 26?"  
  
Bobbo nodded. "That's true. He's probably using what's known as the Euclidean Algorithm, where you just basically find the greatest common denominator between two numbers. This guy is most likely splitting the number down the middle and using those numbers. In this case, that would be 522 and 912."  
  
Robin's head was spinning. This was a little too much to take in at one time. But he just nodded his head and Bobbo continued.  
  
"So the greatest common denominator between those two numbers would be..." the last sentence trailed off as he scribbled some speedy math down on his hand with a pen.  
  
"...Six."  
  
"So, the key is six? Are you sure?" Robin asked. Bobbo nodded and said, "Yep. This guy, Lyrim was his name? Yeah, Lyrim obviously doesn't know much about cryptography, as I said before, since he's using the most basic stuff here. So, there are not many other paths to take."  
  
"Moving on, you would move the letters down six spaces, since the key is six. So, it would change from 'MMUQC' to 'RRZVH'. As for the next line, we don't need a key. 'Atbash will continue but not the rest' is referring to the Atbash Cipher, which is very simple. The letters are simply put into reverse positions in the alphabet. Meaning that 'a' would become 'z', 'b' would become 'y', and so on. So, 'RRZVH' would equal...'IIAES'."  
  
"That still leaves two lines though..." Robin said disappointedly. Bobbo nodded and said, "And these are the hardest ciphers out of the four."  
  
"God damnit."

* * *

"Beast Boy...you can leave now..." Raven said, realizing Beast Boy had not yet left her room. Beast Boy's shoulders sunk, as if he was disappointed. Raven saw this, and interpreted it as a sign he wanted to be around her.  
  
As Beast Boy got up from her bed, she held her hand out and said, "Wait...you can stay...if you want."  
  
'Whoa...talk about mood swings,' Beast Boy thought to himself. But he didn't complain; hell, he got to be around Raven more.  
  
Raven giggled slightly and poked the bolt in his eyebrow. For some reason, she liked it better than his other piercings. Beast Boy chuckled and pushed her playfully.  
  
They continued amiably messing around until Beast Boy found is head resting lazily on Raven's lap. He suddenly had a flashback to his... meeting...with a certain brick-red emotion.  
  
"I'm tired," Beast Boy said, yawning. Raven began playing with his hair absentmindedly, flakes of hair gel floating onto her lap. Beast Boy swatted her hand away teasingly and said, "Hey, you'll mess up my hair."  
  
Beast Boy yawned again, but this time his eyes closed, and he began snoring. Raven couldn't help but smile.  
  
"You're so damn cute when you're asleep," Raven said to the latent Beast Boy.

* * *

"So, I came to Jump City a couple years ago, since Metropolis is no place for an aspiring musician who tunes his guitar lower than drop-A," Dave finished.  
  
Cyborg nodded. He had never been into metal, but somehow her felt perfectly affable with this guy, despite his intimidating look.  
  
"My friend Ben Howe and I started our band Fallen Cherub about six months ago. At first it was me on drums, him on bass and vocals, and this other guy named Kevin Hogan on lead guitar. But then we found a better bassist, Bobbo, so Ben switched to rhythm guitar. But then Kevin got all 'born again' and left. Then Beast Boy came, and here we are now. We've made a couple songs, but mostly will still play other people's stuff."  
  
Cyborg nodded and laughed, recalling the earring pulling incident. "Yeah, Beast Boy plays his guitar really loud. It can really get on your nerves sometimes."

* * *

Robin looked on intently as Bobbo continued scribbling down letters in a piece of paper.  
  
"'Of or relating to a line'...God that's a really crappy line. This guy's a horrible poet," Bobbo commented as he read the next line. "He's definitely using what's called the Linear Cipher, which is kind of tricky. I'm not going to explain it, because it would take waaaaaaaaaay too long."  
  
"How do you know all of this?" Robin asked, the question having been suppressed for a while now.  
  
Bobbo grinned. "I majored in cryptology at Gotham U. But I ended up moving, 'cause there's no work for a cryptographer in Gotham City. Batman always did the stuff that was real heavy and the police did everything that was open. So, there was no middle ground for me."  
  
Robin nodded. Bobbo scribbled a bunch of numbers and letters down and said, "Okay...if he's still using the key 6, then it would come out to...J-J-Z-E-C. Okay, one to go."  
  
Robin read off the paper for him. "'And a French cryptographer will prove your mind...'"  
  
Bobbo blinked. "Vinigre Cipher. Made by the French cryptographer John Vinigre."  
  
"How do we solve it?" Robin asked.  
  
"Like the Linear Cipher- too long to explain. We need a key that's a word- I'll assume it's evil. Okay let's see here..." Bobbo's voice trailed off, and he once again began writing furiously. All of it meant nothing to Robin.  
  
"Wait...something must be wrong..." he said. "Maybe I used the wrong keyword...maybe I did the algorithm wrong..."  
  
"What?" Robin said, worried. If all that work didn't solve it, they were pretty much shit out of luck.  
  
"I got 'forty' as an answer..." Bobbo said, unsure of him self. Robin sighed in relief. Forty could still mean something.  
  
"Maybe forty is longitude or latitude," Robin said, encouraged. Bobbo shook his head. "Forty longitude is a very long way away, Robin. So is forty degrees latitude. Unless..."  
  
Robin looked up. "What?"  
  
Bobbo explained, "There's a place in the middle of the forest outside of Jump City that some arsonist burned the word 'forty' in a long time ago. For some reason, the trees didn't grow back. So the word 'forty' has always been there, and the name stuck."  
  
Robin snapped his fingers. "That's it."  
  
Bobbo looked concerned. "You sure you should go after this guy? He did kick your ass last time. How do you know he won't do it again?"  
  
Robin frowned. "I'll have to talk to Izevm about that one. Maybe if we can separate Fenrir and Lyrim, we can pick them off one by one. But Fenrir can be resurrected, so I don't know how we're going to do this. But we have to go after them now, or they'll destroy Jump City. Again."  
  
Bobbo made an intriguing look. "Maybe Ben can help you out. He wanted to be in the military ever since I knew him, and he's always been fascinated by strategizing."  
  
Robin grinned. "So you have a cryptologist, an aspiring military strategist, and a superhero all in one band?"  
  
Bobbo grinned back. "Yeah, plus the fact that Dave majored in psychology at Jump City High."  
  
Robin laughed. He decided maybe Ben could help him out, but he didn't know where he was. Bobbo saw his confusion, and said, "Ben's over talking with Starfire in the living room."  
  
Robin instinctively tensed up, but assured himself Starfire would never cheat on him. He got up, and slapped Bobbo a high-five. "Thanks a bunch. You've been so much help."  
  
Bobbo grinned. "You're not too bad yourself."

* * *

"Beast Boy...wake up," Raven said, the green shape shifter having slept on her lap for a couple minutes. She lightly nudged his head lightly, careful not to hurt him by accident.  
  
He stirred and awoke, yawning. "Good morning, Ms. Anderson," he said, still in his dream. Raven pushed him lightly and said, "It's me, stupid."  
  
Beast Boy rubbed his eyes and said, "Oh...I knew that."  
  
"Sure you did."  
  
Beast Boy reached over to Raven and pecked her on the cheek. Raven smiled and pressed her lips to his. Beast Boy kissed her back and snaked his arms around he waist, pulling her once again as close to him as possible. They had no idea how long they kissed; but all they know is that when Robin yelled out "Team meeting!" they really felt like hurting him. The two aficionados parted, not wanting to leave each other's company.  
  
Upon reaching the living room where team meetings were usually held, Beast Boy found his friends seated next to the Titans as well.  
  
Robin sat in the center of the couch, with Ben seated next to him.  
  
"What's this all about?" Raven asked dully, masking her adoration from minutes ago. She sat down next to Beast Boy at the end of the couch.  
  
Robin grinned, and said, "Ben's going to tell us how we can defeat Lyrim."  
  
Izevm walked in, looking as if he had came from nowhere. "Impossible. Lyrim alone can kill you all, as can Fenrir. The two of them would run circles around all us," he said, slightly irritated. "Not to mention that Orion is still bound to Lyrim."  
  
Robin frowned at Izevm's pessimism. "That's what you think."  
  
"I don't think. I know."  
  
Robin sighed. "Sit down anyway."  
  
Izevm made no reply, only sat down next to Raven. Beast Boy's upper lip curled slightly in a sign of disgust, but that was the only sign of antipathy he let show. Raven, however, made no effort to shield her discomfiture. She unsubtly edged towards Beast Boy and rested her head on his shoulder, trying to send a message to Izevm.  
  
The umbrager ignored this and focused his attention on Robin.  
  
Robin cleared his throat and said, "Okay, Ben here is going to explain to us how we might be able to defeat Lyrim and Fenrir."  
  
Ben nodded and began, "Alright. From the sound of it, Lyrim and Fenrir use each other to individually pick off each one of you. Never all at once. So, they rely heavily on teamwork. You defeated Fenrir before, when he was by himself. So if we can manage to get rid of either one, we can pick of the other one much more easily."  
  
"However, Fenrir's resurrection abilities still pose a problem. I figured that instead of killing him, we incapacitate him. Beast Boy, you can change into a snake and poison him, for example. Paralyze him, poison him, knock him out, it doesn't matter. As long as he is unable to harm anything, it'll do."  
  
"But the biggest problem if Orion. From what I've been told, he has hella strong powers."  
  
Raven smirked. Now she knew where Beast Boy had picked up the expression 'hella' from.  
  
Ben took a deep breath, and seeing as there were no interruptions, he pressed on. "I also understand he has a strong passion...for...sandwiches...weird. Anyway, since Lyrim is the one who gives him sandwiches, if we can dispose of him, Orion will go away. Then we can focus on destroying him."  
  
Izevm interrupted, "Impossible. Lyrim controls Orion. Simply separating him from Orion won't do jack shit."  
  
Ben raised an eyebrow at Izevm's pomposity. "Well, Mr. I-Know-Everything-So Everybody-Suck-My-Balls, I was about to get into that. I realize that you think that Lyrim controls Orion. I also realize that Lyrim needs Orion."  
  
Izevm snorted. "Ridiculous. Lyrim doesn't need anything. He merely summoned Orion because he was flaunting his powers."  
  
"Is that so? Tell me, why did Lyrim choose to flaunt his powers by summoning something so powerful? I understand that Orion could destroy the world if he or his master wishes it. Then why hasn't he done it yet?"  
  
Izevm was about to say something, but Ben cut him off. "I'll tell you why. Lyrim can't completely control Orion. Sure, he can make him destroy towns, but Orion acts of his own will, following Lyrim's orders only when there's an incentive for him. Most of the time it's more sandwiches. And I don't know if you realize it, but Orion has no feelings. Not in the sense that he has no conscience; I mean that he is only driven by primal instincts, following the age-old philosophy of 'kill or be killed'. So if Lyrim does anything that Orion doesn't like, Lyrim is fucked, because Orion will kill him without a second thought. If Lyrim gets separated from Orion, why will he care? Unless there's an incentive, he doesn't give a shit about Lyrim."  
  
Izevm considered it, and knew he was right. But he still wouldn't admit his spuriousness.  
  
Ben continued, "However, we can't put all of this together at once. If we try to separate Fenrir from Lyrim while they are together, you'll soon find out of there is a God or not. So, we set a trap."  
  
Izevm objected to this. "How do you know Lyrim is not the one setting the trap?"  
  
Ben cracked his knuckles and replied, "I considered that. I ran a bunch of scenarios through my head, and decided the best way to spring a trap without getting trapped ourselves. I also made a backup plan, if he predicted our trap. What we do is..."

* * *

Haha!!!! Cliffhanger!!!! Okay, remember to at least try the trivia, cuz if you get none right you get rocks thrown at you!!!  
  
Next Chapter: Ben finishes telling the Titans the plan, and they set out. Izevm acts like an ass some more, but that's okay, since everybody hates him now anyway. The apocalyptic showdown between the Titans and Lyrim, Fenrir, and Orion begins!  
  
This is Mud signing out.


	10. The Gift from the Pit Part 5

Poor Twisted Me Chapter 9  
  
Okay, it seems like nobody likes that trivia I had. So, fuck that idea. I'll still give the answers.  
  
But I still want to interact with my reviewers more! Well, I'll let you guys decide for me. Should I try a poll each chapter or something like that? Or should I just shut the hell up and write?  
  
#1 Insomniac with Dave Attell #2 Fenrir is the name of a Norse mythological beast, spawn of the god of chaos, Loki. #3 two answers for this one. Prior to this story, I had two stories. But they really sucked ass, so I deleted them. So none was also an acceptable answer.  
  
On a lighter note, I finally made it past 100 reviews! Ownage!  
  
Okay, time to answer reviews now.  
  
Kestrel- Yeah, it was a fun chapter, wasn't it? Glad I cheered you up! Being depressed sucks sometimes. The only time it doesn't suck is when the girl you like comes to cheer you up. That happened once to me. Then she ended up cheating on me. Moving on!  
  
PrincessCat- Hella hella hella hella! Yay candy! You got one right, so I won't throw rocks at you.  
  
Moezy-chan- hey, you're out of college? I'm still in eighth grade! Well, I'm graduating in June, but the point still stands. I don't know what the point is, but whatever it is, it still stands. As for the code, I did some research on cryptology for this story. I ended up learning a lot, and I just used what I knew. But the poem was a pain in the ass to come up with, so I just made Lyrim a bad poet   
  
Guest- Patience, my friend. Beast Boy will get to kick Izevm's ass soon. But be patient until then!  
  
Warprince2000- Yay!  
  
Darkfire- I get more black roses!!! Hell yeah! I will bring on the BBRae goodness, but I need to catch up RobStar first. Bye!  
  
ScarletAngel68- it's ok; I won't throw rocks at you, since nobody like it. Yeah, I love those cliffhangers and as for bribing with sandwiches, it would be funny, but I'm not one to sacrifice a well-developed plot for some humor. Thank you! They do belong together! I don't have a lighter though, so can I borrow yours? The cryptology was pretty hard to learn, but once I got it down, it came naturally. By the way, I'm declaring you my favorite reviewer, so you can go ahead and put that on your résumé.  
  
By the way, I forgot to mention this in last chapter's preview. This chapter will also reveal startling facts about Ben, not to mention what happened between Izevm and Raven. I'll stop there, so I don't give too much away.

* * *

Ben took out a very large map of Jump City and moved his finger across, looking for the right spot. He stopped on an area in the middle of the forest, took out a black marker, and made a big 'X' where his finger had rested.  
  
"This is where Robin and I think that Lyrim is hiding. Notice how the trees surround it. If we can attack during the night, we will have the element of surprise," he started, putting the cap on the marker. Izevm still had his doubts, however.  
  
"Just hiding behind trees in the dark? The chances of just that working are slim to none," Izevm snorted.  
  
Ben, apparently, was not done explaining.  
  
"I'm not done, 'tard," he said, his patience with Izevm dwindling away. "As I was about to say before SOMEBODY interrupted me, this alone won't do. However, all we need to do is use guerilla tactics. Hit and run, hit him again while he's confused, then run again. Eventually he'll get fed up and try to blow up the whole city. However, we need to incapacitate Fenrir before we do anything else, because he can see in the dark. Gar, turn into a snake and bite him, perhaps. Something like that. Not enough to kill him, but to knock him out for a reasonable amount of time."  
  
Beast Boy nodded. Izevm, evidently out of haughty rebuffs, was silent.  
  
"So, once Fenrir is out of the picture, we can all focus our efforts on Lyrim. Like I said, just keep on hitting and running. Eventually, Lyrim's going to get really pissed, and he'll probably try to blow up the whole city or summon Orion again."  
  
Since no one interrupted, Ben pressed on. "No matter what, we have to keep him from summoning Orion. If that thing gets free, we're all fucked. Period. Now, if we know the terrain..." he pointed to the area around the black 'X' and continued, "...we can stay on the offensive until he runs out of gas. Everyone got it?"  
  
They all nodded, with the exception of Izevm, who jerked his head forward curtly.  
  
Normally, Ben would have smiled. But under the grim circumstances, his lips stayed pressed into a thin line.  
  
"Any questions?" Ben asked. Bobbo raised his hand.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Yeah, Gar, if you don't make it back, can I have your guitar?" he said. Beast Boy grinned and said, "Hell no! That guitar will be buried next to me!"  
  
Dave laughed. It was nice to have the mood lightened for once.

* * *

Later...  
  
Lyrim sat anticipatively on his chair, hands pressed together in a very perceptive way. Fenrir pawed lazily at the floor until he spied a mouse in the corner. He growled and pounced, claws outstretched. The poor mouse never knew what hit him.  
  
Lyrim suddenly snapped out of his trance, as if something had disturbed him.  
  
"They come, Fenrir," he said quietly. The demonic hound paused from his morbid desires and looked up at his master.  
  
'Fenrir not see humans. Fenrir know humans here. But not see. Fenrir kill when see. Fenrir happy. Kill humans,' he thought to himself primitively.  
  
Lyrim smirked and stood up. His lengthy beard unfolded from his lap and fell, almost touching the floor.  
  
"I see Robin deciphered my enigma," Lyrim said to no one. He motioned for Fenrir to follow, and he began sprinting up the stairs that led to the outside realm.  
  
Upon reaching the surface, he looked around. He saw nothing.  
  
A rustling in the bushes averted his attention. He threw his hand out and a blast of fire erupted from his hands, incinerating whatever had been there.  
  
False alarm. It was a mere raccoon, out searching for a meal.  
  
Robin sat crouched in the tree branches, waiting for the right moment. Ben sat next to him. For some reason, he had insisted on coming. Why, Robin had no idea, but Ben was very...persuasive.  
  
Raven hovered edgily above the tree next to them. Izevm waited patiently below her, dealing with the apprehension very well.  
  
Beast Boy and Cyborg were positioned inside a bush. Not very comfortably, might I add. The hybrid's large size took up much of the space inside the bush, and the plethora of branches intensified the ache caused by Beast Boy's tattoos.  
  
Robin stiffened reflexively as he saw Lyrim emerge, with Fenrir close by. Lyrim's sudden arson of a nearby bush caused his stomach to flare up, since Beast Boy and Cyborg could have been in that bush.  
  
Robin sighed as he saw the lone inhabitant of the bush was just a raccoon. Beast Boy and Cyborg must have been in a different bush, escaping harm.  
  
Ben tapped Robin's shoulder. "Now!" he whispered. Robin nodded and took a handful of smoke bombs. Taking careful aim, he threw them in the direction of Lyrim.  
  
The apocalyptic mage caught sight of the airborne smoke bombs a little too late. An explosion blinded him and Fenrir, the smoke preventing any sort of perception.  
  
"Now BB!" Cyborg yelled. Beast Boy gave a thumbs-up before bounding towards at Fenrir. Changing into a cobra mid-leap, he sunk his fangs into the leathery skin.  
  
Fenrir roared in pain, and desperately tried to kill the attacking serpent. But his attempts failed, for his claws could not reach his back, nor could his monstrous fangs.  
  
Fenrir began to shake wildly, struggling to eliminate his assailant. But Beast Boy just sunk his fangs in harder, emptying his poison sacs into the demonic hound.  
  
Fenrir's movements slowed, and after a couple seconds he fell down, unconscious. Beast Boy detached himself from the cataleptic Fenrir, and disappeared into the foliage.  
  
Lyrim, still sightless from the smoke bomb, was unable to help Fenrir. Once the smoke cleared, he saw Fenrir's comatose body and a green flash running into the foliage. Growling, he threw a sphere of black energy at the running Beast Boy, but missed.  
  
Robin leapt down from his site in the canopy and withdrew his Bo-staff. Cyborg leapt from the bushes and aimed his sonic cannon, his primal instincts for survival having kicked in.  
  
Lyrim dodged the quick hits of Robin, but became so wrapped up in his brawl with the masked leader that he failed to notice the blue beam combined with green starbolts flying towards him.  
  
Robin leapt out of the way, allowing Cyborg and Starfire's combined attempts to hit Lyrim head-on. The dark mage staggered, but was unhurt.  
  
"Shit, what does it take to hurt this guy?" Cyborg said. Aiming his cannon again, he fired round after round at his adversary.  
  
Lyrim roared ferociously, and flew up to avoid Cyborg's blue volley. He flew past the veil of the treetops and hovered above the nighttime sky.  
  
Lyrim growled brutally, and spiraled to the side, avoiding a giant tree enshrouded in dark energy. Raven and Izevm flew past the tree line after him, and unleashed a torrent of dark energy at the antagonist. Lyrim dodged each one, and began fighting back.  
  
The antagonistic killer threw his hand out towards the attacking pair. A huge stream of ice rocketed towards the two Azareths, forming a line of ice as it went. Raven nimbly dodged it, but Izevm barely avoided it. His right hand was briefly caught in the crossfire, and it shattered like glass.  
  
"Fuck!" Izevm yelled, having just become left-handed.  
  
He lingered in the air a little too long, for Lyrim flew after him with sickening speed. Lyrim couldn't move in time, and Lyrim began unleashed infuriated blows at the Azareth. A green eagle raking his head with its talons cut him short, however. He roared in pain as black blood began flowing from the deep wounds, trickling onto his face. Izevm used the distraction to fly out of the way. He fell onto a tree branch and coughed up some blood. Fortunately for him, Lyrim's ire shifted to the airborne eagle flying away.  
  
Lyrim raced after Beast Boy, catching up to him in mere seconds. The green shape shifter had enough hindsight, however, to dive down at the last second, thus avoiding Lyrim's would-be assault.  
  
Starfire, a couple seconds too late, flew upwards into the night sky, seeking the dark mage. Lyrim caught sight of her before she did of him, and aimed his hand towards her.  
  
"Flames of woe, flames of desire, to me bestow, bestowed with the fire!" he bellowed maliciously. A huge inferno, a hundredfold thicker than a grown man erupted overwhelmingly, aimed at the hovering Tamaran. Starfire caught sight of the firestorm just in time to fend it off with a green ray of energy. But she couldn't match the awesome strength of the conflagration. She undoubtedly would have been overwhelmed, had it not been for Cyborg's good aim.  
  
A bright blue beam hit Lyrim head-on, knocking him off-balance. The tower dissipated, leaving Starfire unharmed. Very tired, but not hurt.  
  
Lyrim regained his balance instantly, but was knocked out of it again by a large green condor ramming into his side. He instinctively lashed out, but the condor glided gracefully out of his reach.  
  
A combined effort of Raven and Starfire collided with Lyrim, and their mutual endeavors overpowered him, and he crashed into the ground, leaving a good-sized crater.  
  
Robin leapt towards the crater to attack, but a huge explosion from within the hole hammered him back. He flew impetuously into a tree, leaving him dazed but conscious.  
  
Lyrim emerged from the crater absolutely livid. He had veins popping out of his head and he was growling sadistically. He roared out, "Orion! Co..." before a green bull yelling "No!" tackled him with full force. He screamed in agony, and recklessly threw a horde of dark energy blasts.  
  
Lyrim's blind assault caused a chain of explosions to rock the forest. Beast Boy flew back, taking one of the blasts head-on. Cyborg dived behind a rock, which shielded him from the flare. Izevm conjured a shield of energy to protect him, too weak to simply dodge. Raven flew upwards gracefully, easily dodging Lyrim's attacks, carrying Ben with her. Robin, however, was still too dazed to dodge. Starfire noticed this, and rushed to his aid without hesitation.  
  
"Robin!" she yelled, and flew with all her strength towards her masked aficionado. She picked him up by his waist and zoomed out of the way of the impending explosion.  
  
In the ensuing confusion, Lyrim managed to regain his composure. He grinned evilly, and raised his hand.  
  
"Orion! Come forth!"  
  
A strident rumbling erupted, and the earth began to shake wildly. Beast Boy, just now regaining his senses, gasped.  
  
"No! This can't happen!" the green changeling yelled. Lyrim grinned menacingly at him and replied, "Oh, but it can and is, my friend. You should have taken my advice while you had the chance, you inane fool!"  
  
The rumbling intensified, and a giant, blood red shape formed in the ground. It began growing, forcing all the Titans, Ben, and Izevm to move far back.  
  
A red cloud appeared in the sky, and a rusty, sinister looking anchor zoomed quickly, landing in the blood red shape in the ground. It kept going, and then stopped, like it had caught something. It slowly began pulling up, and the demonic head of Orion, hooked by the chin to the anchor, pulled out of the portal into this plane of existence.  
  
As the shoulders and wings of Orion followed suit, a taught set of chains, binding Orion by the arms, ripped upwards out of the ground, tearing dirt and plants as they moved. Within a matter of seconds, Orion's full form had surfaced.  
  
"No...I thought I had it all planned...but he still came," Ben said with a tone of finality, reminiscent of a criminal walking down the green mile.  
  
Raven shook her head. "Ben, we're not finished yet."  
  
Ben smirked, knowing she was wrong.  
  
Orion roared deafeningly, its scream filled with the anguish of a million funerals. The roar shook the Titans down to their very souls, scaring them more deeply than any exorcist or poltergeist ever could.  
  
Lyrim pointed towards the petrified Titans. "Orion! Destroy!"  
  
Orion roared back and said, "I want a cheese sandwich this time! Last time you gave me peanut butter!"  
  
Lyrim groaned and conjured up a cheese sandwich. He threw it at the hellish demon, which swallowed it with one gulp.  
  
A ghastly roar reverberated throughout the forest, and Orion averted his gaze to his soon-to-be victims.  
  
Izevm tried to fly away, but the excruciating pain in his stomach from Lyrim's malicious beatings kept him from going anywhere. None of the others tried to escape; deep down, they knew this was the end. And they would fight until that end came. It was a hero's duty.  
  
Beast Boy changed into a gorilla, ignoring the morbid feeling lingering about them all. Orion broke the tension, sending a blast from his blood-red eye at the green shape shifter. Beast Boy jumped out of the way, changing into a rabbit for more maneuverability.  
  
Starfire threw a torrent of starbolts aimed at Orion's body. Each made direct contact. But instead of hurting him, the scales covering him shook, and fell off. They fallen scales sprouted wings and legs, and flew in a swarm after the Tamaran.  
  
Robin threw a bird-a-rang at the demonic creature, but Lyrim tackled him, ramming him headlong into a rock. Robin shook his head, regaining his vision just in time to see Lyrim charging straight after him. Robin was too dazed to dodge, and thus became a human punching bag for the evil mage. Blow after blow registered, each more agonizing than the last. As Robin's consciousness fell away from him, he knew the truth.  
  
Lyrim had won.  
  
Starfire painfully watched Lyrim's horrid assault on Robin, yet could not do anything. She could only fly away as fast as she could, for the swarm of creatures that came from Orion was gaining on her. Aenimae; that's what they were called, she remembered. But that was of no use to her now.  
  
"Azareth Metrion Zinthos!" Raven yelled, sending a flurry of dark energy at the pursuing swarm. Her attack hit the aenimae; but instead of hurting them, they appeared to feed off the energy. They turned, and began chasing her. She yelped, and flew downwards in zigzags. But they still managed to gain.  
  
"No! Raven!" Beast Boy yelled. He sprinted as fast as he could, and changed into a pterodactyl. Flying towards the Azareth, he covered her completely in his large wings. The green headbanger flew downwards and landed, acting as a makeshift shelter for Raven.  
  
The aenimae made no effort to distinguish different targets; to them, any kill is a good kill.  
  
The aenimae furiously attacked Beast Boy, but he still held his ground. Raven whimpered slightly, both scared and worried. But the attacking swarm did not let up; and it wasn't long until Beast Boy lost consciousness. Raven gasped, and tried to heal him. For some reason, however, her powers had no effect.  
  
"Come on! Heal, you son of a bitch! No!" she yelled with a sense of futility. Despite her efforts, Beast Boy did not wake. Raven had used all her strength to try and heal him; and now, as her vision slowly turned black, she took a small bit of comfort in the fact that she had done her duty.  
  
Cyborg fired round after round at Orion, none of them making a single dent or scratch. Orion averted his fiendish glare to the hybrid, his stare reaching down into the depths of his very soul.  
  
The apocalyptic demon roared horrifically, and his eye began to distortedly turn a deeper shade of red. A grisly screech escaped his mouth, and a huge blast erupted from his eye, aimed for Cyborg.  
  
Cyborg tried to dodge, but his reflexes were not quick enough. He fell down, although conscious. Instinctively, he tried to get up, when a small voice in the back of his head told him to stay down. For some reason, he did. Squinting his eyes, he was able to make it look like he was dead, but was still able to see what was going on.  
  
Starfire was dead-tired from begin chased by the aenimae, so when they came for her a second time, she was unable to escape. They brutally attacked her, and she lost consciousness soon after.

* * *

"Robin...wake up...Robin...wake up, dude...Robin..." a far-off voice called, echoing throughout his head.  
  
Robin's eyes slowly fluttered open, and upon fully awakening, he yawned. But once his surroundings registered, he was deeply shocked.  
  
The whole forest was completely burned down; only ashes and the burnt remnants remained. All the Titans and Izevm had congregated around him. Starfire was at his side, grasping his hand tightly, tears in her eyes. Beast Boy stood in front of him, looking like he had just relived Vietnam and World War 2 all in one day. Raven was grasping his hand solemnly, as if this was a funeral. Cyborg was sitting a little off to the side, crouching on a log. He was performing a system scan, making sure the fight had not one any serious damage. Izevm was kneeling directly to his right, massaging the stump at the end of his arm that used to have a hand.  
  
Ben, however, was seated on a wooden stump a lot farther away. He was grasping his head and swearing silently under his breath.  
  
Lyrim was nowhere in sight, nor were Orion and Fenrir. Robin sat up silently, then groaned from the pain in his stomach.  
  
"Robin! You are alright!" Starfire shouted gleefully, and embraced him tightly. She sobbed into his shoulder, as if he had died and come back.  
  
"Star...what the hell happened?" Robin asked confusedly. Starfire let go, and gravely looked down at the ground. Robin looked around and said, "Anybody want to tell me what happened?"  
  
Silence. Robin cautiously said, "We did win...right?"  
  
"We won...but..." Raven began to say, but the last word trailed off. Robin raised an eyebrow. "But what?"  
  
Cyborg got up from his place on the log, but said nothing. The silence lingered, but was interrupted by Ben.  
  
"I'll tell you what happened, Robin," the metalhead said grimly. He sighed, and walked over.  
  
"There's a reason I was nicknamed 'Pyro', Robin," Ben said softly. Robin raised an eyebrow, not understanding what he meant.  
  
"I don't understand..." Robin began to say, but he stopped once he saw that Ben's hand had become engulfed in flames. They crackled, but did not spread. Ben showed no sign of pain, and his skin showed no sign of burn. Robin gasped, the truth beginning to dawn on him.  
  
"No way...why didn't you tell us?" he asked. Ben sneered, and the fire on his hand disappeared.  
  
"Just because I have special gifts doesn't mean I have to flaunt them around like some kind of circus freak."  
  
Robin was surprised at Ben's harsh words. He was about to ask more, when Ben continued.  
  
"All my life, my powers caused me nothing but pain and isolation. Early in my childhood, I accidentally set fire to millions of things because I couldn't control my powers. But I was labeled an arsonist, and everybody just thought I was a messed up kid. My parents tried to send me to a therapeutic school, but after the first week I lost control again and burned the school down."  
  
The masked leader had nothing to say. Ben sighed and continued, "I ended up running away from home. Eventually, I learned to control my powers. I went to a military camp, and liked it there. But it wasn't long before the officials found out I had no identity, and they booted me out. Then I met Dave, and I stayed with him, got a job, and here I am."  
  
Robin wanted to ask what had happened, but he decided that now wasn't a good time.  
  
"I suppose you want to know what happened?" Ben said. Robin hesitated, and then nodded.  
  
Ben sighed.  
  
"It went like this..."

* * *

Begin Flashback (from Ben's POV)  
  
After the aenimae began chasing Raven, I hurried into the forest to hide. I could still see everything, however. I watched each of you fall, one by one. I couldn't handle it. I yelled in anger, not caring who or what heard me.  
  
After my outburst, I soon found Lyrim right behind me, smirking like the fucking, stupid ass jerk he is. He laughed out loud, and asked me if I wanted to be killed by him or be killed by Orion. Then he started laughing his ass off, like he was the funniest guy in the world.  
  
I got pissed right then. Who wouldn't have? The guy was being a fucking asshole. I lost focus, and started blindly throwing punches at him. He simply dodged them all, that fucking smirk never leaving his retarded little face.  
  
It wasn't long before I lost control completely. Lyrim had no idea what was happening when I began to erupt into fire. The asshole thought I was a normal human. My fire spread to the forest, and as my anger escalated, I just exploded. Literally. There was a huge explosion, and it engulfed the whole forest. Lyrim screamed with pain. His aversion to heat stopped somewhere around a thousand degrees Fahrenheit, evidently. My explosion burned his stupid ass to a crisp, but he was still alive. He ran off, yelling that this wasn't over. He and Fenrir's body disappeared, then Orion sort of...went away. The anchor shot back up, but pulled him down instead...it was weird.  
  
It was only then I realized that the forest was completely destroyed. How, I don't know, but you guys were unharmed.

End Flashback

* * *

"That was me," Izevm said from off to the side. "I had enough strength in me to shield everybody. You guys should all be thanking your asses off."  
  
"How about we leave it at 'thanks'?" Raven said curtly. Izevm frowned at her rudeness.  
  
Ben, now finished, walked off. Beast Boy started after him and said, "Wait! Where are you going?"  
  
Ben looked at him glumly. "I can't stay. I've lost control of my powers. I don't want to hurt you guys. Tell the guys I'm sorry."  
  
Beast Boy moved directly in front of him, blocking his path.  
  
"No."  
  
"Gar, I have to."  
  
"Ben, we can help you control your powers. We've done it before. And besides," he said with a grin, "the Jump City Battle of the Bands is coming up. We can't miss that, now, can we?"  
  
Ben smiled slightly. "Battle of the Bands?"  
  
"You bet your ass. $10,000 first place prize."  
  
"Well, if it's that important for you to win a couple bucks, then I guess I can stay."  
  
Beast Boy grinned even wider. "Alright!"  
  
"On one condition, though," Ben said.  
  
Beast Boy's grin lessened. "What?"  
  
"Don't call me Pyro anymore."

* * *

"Gar! Ben! You guys are all okay!" Dave yelled from his spot on the couch. He and Bobbo had obviously been very worried.  
  
Beast Boy laughed. "Yeah, we're all in one piece. Except for Izevm, who's in two pieces. Hey Izevm, did you ever find your hand?"  
  
Izevm growled and said, "No, I didn't. And thank you very much for reminding me of that."  
  
"Anytime."  
  
Izevm growled again and stormed off. Ben, Dave, and Bobbo all headed towards the basement to get their gear. After they had all exchanged goodbyes, Beast Boy turned to Raven.  
  
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot. What really happened between you and Izevm?" Beast Boy asked. Raven didn't answer.  
  
"Raven?"  
  
She sighed and said, "Do you really want to know?"  
  
"Yes, I do. Otherwise I wouldn't have asked."  
  
Raven walked over to the couch and sat down. Beast Boy followed and rested his head on her shoulder.  
  
"Back when I lived in Azareth, me and Izevm were...good friends. In fact, we were more than good friends. Way more. But then he began doing...strange things. Like summoning demons from other realms. None of them were that powerful, so none of them caused any real harm. But one day he summoned a really powerful one. As a matter of fact, it was Fenrir. It killed almost my whole village before the elders managed to banish it to another plane of existence. I did what any girl in my position would do. I dumped Izevm. He was plain heartbroken. I guess it's kind of my fault he's such an ass now. But he still hasn't moved on..."  
  
Beast Boy said, "I see..." and folded his hands together like therapists usually do. "Now tell me about your childhood..."  
  
Raven rolled her eyes and shoved him. Beast Boy laughed and grabbed her by the arm, making her fall down on top of him. Raven smiled and pressed her lips to his. Beast Boy embraced her tightly and kissed her back, moving tongue deeper.  
  
Raven broke the kiss after a couple of minutes and said, "Whoo, I need to breathe."  
  
Beast Boy held her waist and hugged her tightly from behind. Raven grasped his hand and yawned.  
  
"You know, Lyrim is still out there plotting," Raven said casually. Beast Boy pecked her on the cheek and said, "You're probably right. But let him plot all he wants. He can't beat us."

* * *

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!! First plot arc done! So, what'd you guys think? And trust me, this story is waaaaaaaaaay far from being over. This is going to be a really long fic, people. I just keep getting more and more ideas.  
  
Next chapter:  
  
Fallen Cherub enters the Battle of the Bands! Beast Boy invites the rest of the team, but Starfire, who has no place in a crowd of headbangers and metalheads, declines. So, Robin takes her out on their first official date! Cyborg brings Carmen, and everyone has fun! But while the Titans are off enjoying themselves, a new, mysterious villain, dubbed "Deep Throat" has allied himself with Lyrim! Sheeeit, this won't be good...  
  
This is Mud signing out. 


	11. Deep Throat Part 1

Poor Twisted Me Chapter 10  
  
Waaaaaah! I'm sorry it took so long to update, but I've been really depressed lately because the girl I like is moving away and I never got the chance to tell her I like her : (  
Hey, I was just wondering, what was you guys' favorite chapter? I got a bunch of reviews for chapter seven saying that one was the best, but I just wanted some closure. So cast your votes, mkay?  
  
Reviews to be answered!  
  
Kestrel- Wow, you really think so? Yeah, this next plot arc is going to be very...confusing. But it'll all make sense in due time, young grasshopper   
  
Moezy-chan- thank you! I will keep up the good work!  
  
KeLLy BeaNz- Hey, if you're Kelly Beanz, does that mean you own your own coffee bean company? Then can I get a lifetime supply of coffee? Seriously though, BBRae is my favorite pairing too. Yay! Do you really think I should change the rating? It doesn't seem like I'll lose any readers if I do...I'll think about it. And that doesn't sound corny at all! And as for my age, I did mature pretty fast. Yeah, puberty's not as bad as everybody thinks it is. But you really flatter me! But I still can't seem to find a girl...maybe 'cause my school is filled with stupid preps who don't spare a passing glance at a metalhead like me   
  
Lyssi- Don't worry, there will be a LOT of BBRae scenes yet. But I want to catch up on RobStar a little bit, since I've been neglecting them slightly And you're right, you can never have enough fluff.  
  
Fanfic Gurl- Hey, I won't hurt you for not reviewing before. I might throw rocks at you, but I won't hurt you NO! I'M THE BIGGEST RBB SHIPPER! Actually, probably not. Anyways, you live in Connecticut too? Yay! That is a really funny coincidence! Maybe you're my long-lost twin sister...who I lost...a long time ago...And I did base Orion loosely off Anima. In reality, I just used the chains, anchor, and scale things. But hey, good eye. You have a dog? I don't. I used to have a fish, and I named him Scuzzlebutt (from South Park). But he died. Yeah, spraying stuff with a hose will solve any problem   
  
ScarletAngel68- Yeah, I did see that on your profile. Didn't think it was that big of a deal though...guess I was wrong. Yeah, remember waaaaaaaay back when Raven asked Ben if there was any reason for his nickname and he got all nervous? That's called foreshadowing! I did have it planned, but I didn't think of it until around chapter four or something like that. Yeah, you can have Ben, but not Beast Boy. You can put that on your profile too, right next to being my fav reviewer. As for the Deep Throat thing, YES!!! THAT'S EXACTLY WHY YOU'RE MY FAVORITE REVIEWER! It's just a reference though, no special reason for picking it.  
  
On with the story!

* * *

"Sure you want to leave, Izevm?" Robin said as the Azareth began walking out the door. Izevm turned and nodded.  
  
"I have...unfinished business to attend to," he said, pulling his hood up. Robin nodded in agreement. Starfire and Cyborg waved and said, "Bye!"  
  
Izevm didn't look back, only walked on.  
  
Raven and Beast Boy weren't there. True, Izevm had been rude to them both, but they didn't have to return the favor.  
  
As Izevm's figure slowly disappeared into the distance, Robin suddenly began wondering how Izevm was going to deal with his new one-handed lifestyle. He shrugged it off and guessed that he would get a mechanical one or something like that.  
  
A couple hours later...  
  
Beast Boy sat on the couch of the living room, reading his Snaggletooth magazine. He wore a white wife-beater and a pair of black and baggy jean shorts. On both arms he sported black wristbands, one all black and the other bearing the anarchy symbol embossed in red.  
  
He rested his head on the arm of the couch and kicked his legs out in a very relaxed posture. The green metalhead was almost completely serene, when the doorbell rang out loudly, shattering his tranquility.  
  
Beast Boy groaned and got up to answer the door. It was Dave.  
  
"What is it Dave?" Beast Boy asked, slightly irritated. Dave grinned and thrust a piece of paper into Beast Boy's hands.  
  
"Battle of the Bands, that's what. Fallen Cherub is so gonna kick everyone's ass," Dave said smugly. Beast Boy read the paper interestingly.  
  
"Jump City Battle of the Bands...Qualifiers the 16th, Finals the 20th...one entry per person...all day...$10,000 first place...$5,000 second place...$1,000 third place...$500 for fourth and fifth...trophies for top five placers in addition to "Best Solo Award" and "Crappiest Performance Award"...call 1-471- 3226 for more information...sounds good to me!" Beast Boy said.  
  
Dave's grin waned slightly. "We're having trouble picking which song to play, though. We want something good for the qualifiers, but not our best. Bobbo, Ben, and I made a 'maybe' list, and you can just put in your two cents for each, mkay?" he said, and handed Beast Boy a piece of paper filled with scribbly handwriting.  
  
Beast Boy nodded and took the paper. He perused the list, making mental notes as he went along. Most of the list was composed of other band's songs, since as of now they themselves only had five or six.  
  
Beast Boy nodded as he finished scanning the inventory, and said, "Why don't we get the rest of the guys and decide?"  
  
"Sounds good to me."

* * *

-Jump City Outskirts-  
  
Lyrim threw his prized spell book into a side table he had set up. Finding and settling into his new abode was difficult, since he needed someplace both inconspicuous yet tolerable to live in. He had finally decided on taking refuge in a large outcropping of boulders on the edge of the lake. Although it was relatively close to Titans Tower, the size and number of the boulders made it close to impossible to detect him. The dark mage had moved and shaped many of the boulders to his pleasing to form a sort of cave-slash-hideout.  
  
Not the ideal home, but it would do.  
  
Fenrir sluggishly crawled into the lair, and Lyrim mentally moved a boulder to serve as a makeshift door. Ever since that last fight, Fenrir had been a little out of it.  
  
"Okay...seems they were stronger than I had originally planned...no matter. I could crush them all like ants...but no, I'd rather bide my time...revenge is a dish best served...oh hell, I'll just squish them all like ants."  
  
(A/n: Simpsons reference!)  
  
Fenrir growled angrily, his boredom beginning to turn into frustration.  
  
The boulder blocking the entrance was suddenly moved aside by an outside force. Lyrim turned around and took a fighting stance, expecting an enemy. Fenrir roared brusquely and tensed up as well.  
  
The person who had opened the door was very mysterious with a pitch-black cloak that covered its entire body completely, as well a large hood that cast an ominous shadow across its face that made it look evocative of the Grim Reaper.  
  
Lyrim did not relax, only said, "What business do you have here?"  
  
The cloaked figure made no visible movement. After a few seconds, the hood moved slightly up and a raspy, guttural voice said, "You need not be tense, my friends. I only seek but a humble alliance with you."  
  
Lyrim eased up ever so slightly and said, "And who are you to assume I want an alliance?"  
  
The ominous person lifted up his hand in a compassionate gesture. Lyrim could not see anything now either; the cloak covered his hand even when raised.  
  
"I am not oblivious to what occurs, Lyrim. I saw your fight with the Titans. It is clear that you cannot defeat them alone. And if you cannot defeat them, you will be unable to liberate their souls. And if you are unable to liberate their souls, you will have lost your meaning in life. That, my dear Lyrim, is why I seek an alliance."  
  
Lyrim finally relaxed completely, and motioned for Fenrir to do the same. The demonic hound did so, but with condescension.  
  
"You still did not answer my question. Who are you? And how do you know my name?"  
  
No answer.  
  
"Answer me!"  
  
The cloaked figure walked towards Lyrim. The dark mage did not move an inch as the figure drew closer, but a low, foreboding growl in Fenrir's throat began to rise.  
  
"You need only know that I go by the moniker...Deep Throat. Why I know your name is irrelevant."  
  
Lyrim blinked and said, "Well then, Deep Throat, tell me exactly how you plan to assist me."  
  
The figure chuckled and began whispering in Lyrim's ear. The evil man's eyes widened, and he grinned a huge grin.  
  
"Deep Throat, I believe you have yourself an alliance," Lyrim said with a smile.  
  
"I am glad to hear that, Lyrim."

* * *

"Let's see...we've narrowed it down to... 'Angel of Death' by Slayer, 'Breathing New Life' by Damageplan, 'Lepers Among Us' by Dimmu Borgir, and 'The Silence'" Ben said as he scrolled down the inventory of songs he had made.  
  
Bobbo nodded and said, "Let's do 'The Silence' for the qualifiers and 'Breathing New Life' for the finals, so if we don't get top five, we still have a shot at the 'Best Solo' award."  
  
Beast Boy looked at him and said, "You know, the trophy for 'Best Solo' goes to the person who does the solo, not the whole band."  
  
"Oh. Screw that, then."  
  
Dave stood up from his seat on Ben's couch and said, "'Lepers Among Us' is out. Reno Kiilerich's (that's the drummer for Dimmu Borgir) style is too complex."  
  
Ben nodded and said, "'Angel of Death' is probably out. No offense Gar, but Tom Araya is not exactly a good singer."  
  
Beast Boy nodded and said, "I think we have our songs then. All we need to do is make reservations."  
  
Ben nodded and headed over to the phone. "I'll make the call."  
  
Beast Boy looked over at him and saw a number written on a pad of paper by the phone.  
  
"One...eight hundred...L-E-G-S...Ben, what kind of numbers are you calling here?"  
  
Ben pushed the pad off the table. "Nothing, nothing at all."  
  
"Suuuuuure, Ben."  
  
"Shut up, Gar. I'm a red-blooded American male just like you, 'cept I don't have green skin."  
  
"Hmph."  
  
"Okay...what was the number again?" Ben asked. Dave glanced at the flyer and said, "One four seven one...three two two six. Got it?"  
  
"Three...two...two...six, yep. Hold on, it's ringing."  
  
Beast Boy began absentmindedly playing with one of his earrings as Ben waited for the call to register.  
  
"Hello? Yeah, we'd like to make a reservation for the Battle of the Band qualifiers...Okay, great. We're performing...twenty-sixth, did you say? Oh, thirty-sixth. Gotcha. Okay, thanks a bunch. Bye."  
  
Beast Boy averted his attention from his piercings and said, "So we're in?"  
  
"We're in."

* * *

Beast Boy walked happily down the hall to his room. He was halfway to his destination when he bumped, literally, into Cyborg.  
  
"Dude, watch where you're going, okay?" the hybrid fretted as he rubbed stomach where Beast Boy's head had made contact with. "And what are you so happy about anyway?"  
  
Beast Boy grinned and said, "Me and the guys are going to the Battle of the Bands tomorrow. Well, we're actually going to the qualifiers, but the point still stands."  
  
Cyborg looked intrigued. He was about to ask more when Starfire said, "Oh no, Beast Boy! You can't go into a battle! You might get killed!"  
  
Beast Boy laughed. Starfire may have learned a lot about Earth, but she still had that naïveté she from three years ago.  
  
"Starfire, it's not an actual battle. It's a contest to see whose band is the best. And in this case, the worst, since they're giving out a "Crappiest Performance" award."  
  
Star said, "Ohhh, I understand. Beast Boy, can I come watch you engage in this Band's Battle?"  
  
Beast Boy scratched his head and said, "First of all, Starfire, it's Battle of the Bands, not the Band's Battle. Secondly...you shouldn't go. You may have fought villains, destroyed evildoers and all that jazz, but you'll never be ready for the mosh pits. And trust me, there will be a lot of them."  
  
Starfire scratched her head. "What is a mosh pit?"  
  
Beast Boy groaned. "Look, you just shouldn't go. You're physical well-being would be at stake, let's just put it at that."  
  
"He's right, Star," Raven's flat voice from the other side of the hallway, said. The Azareth walked over and said, "I doubt you'd like the music there anyway."  
  
Starfire said, "Oh...well, good luck anyway, Beast Boy." As she walked off, she seemed kind of hurt. Beast Boy felt a little guilty, but nonetheless knew that he and Raven were right.  
  
Cyborg looked up and said, "Can me and Carmen come?"  
  
"It's Carmen and I, smart one," Raven said dryly. Cyborg ignored her.  
  
"Hmmm...yeah, but put on a little black, otherwise the both of you will get hazed, mkay?" Beast Boy advised. Cyborg nodded and headed for the phone to call Carmen.  
  
Raven smiled slightly and knelt down next to Beast Boy. Grinning slightly wider, she said, "And of course I have to come, since I could never miss you and your friends fail horribly in your attempts to make good music."  
  
"Very funny."  
  
"It is, isn't it?"

* * *

Robin was quietly reading his Newsweek magazine when he saw Starfire down onto the seat next to him. He noticed an aura of depression around her, and decided to inquire into the matter.  
  
"Something the matter, Starfire?" Robin asked as he placed his arm around her shoulders sympathetically. Starfire rested her head on his and said, "Beast Boy says I should not go to his 'Battle of the Bands' or I will get hurt."  
  
Robin raised an eyebrow. Starfire definitely wouldn't fit in there. Hell, she would probably get hazed.  
  
Robin held her in tighter and said, "Maybe you and me could do something while Beast Boy's at his stupid Battle of the Bands."  
  
Starfire grinned playfully and said, "Robin, do you mean a date?"  
  
Robin blushed slightly and said, "Well...I guess...sort of..."  
  
"Because if it is, it's a definite yes."

* * *

-The next day-  
  
"My God, that sucked. Really. If Satan himself rose from the depths of hell, squatted on his big, fat, hairy legs and crapped into a bowl all the reincarnates of abhorrence, crassness, and putridity into one big lump of disgusting repugnance, and made me pick between eating it, and listening to you guys play," the judge, Nick Lewok, said, and paused for dramatic effect before continuing, "I would whip out my cell phone, call my dear old grandmother, and ask her to say grace. That was just horrible. Really, it was."  
  
The victims of the judge's harsh words, the band Doilla, merely stood on the stage, not really listening to his words.  
  
"So...did we make it?" the singer of the band asked.  
  
"I would think not."  
  
"Awww."  
  
"Next...number thirty-six!" the judge next to Nick called out. She was a short, skinny, African-American woman who looked like she was still in her twenties. Her name was Sherri Perato.  
  
Beast Boy gulped slightly nervously as he picked up his guitar. Raven gave him a good-luck kiss on the cheek and said, "You'll do great, Beast Boy. Don't be nervous."  
  
The green changeling grinned before Dave pulled him away.  
  
"Come on, they called us!"  
  
As the quartet walked into the auditioning room, Beast Boy began studying the judges. One was an African-American woman who was short and skinny; another was a tall, medium built man with glasses and a goatee; and the other was a pale-skinned guy with a short moustache who looked kind of...neurotic  
  
The tall and skinny man perked up and faced Beast Boy.  
  
"Aren't you too much of a celebrity to be doing things like this, Beast Boy?" the man asked. Beast Boy shook his head and said, "Nah, the superhero life isn't as busy as it sounds."  
  
"M'kay. First off, what's the name of your band?"  
  
Ben looked over from his position setting up some of the equipment. He swallowed and said, "Fallen Cherub."  
  
"Okay...Fallen...Cherub...and what will you be playing now?" the woman asked, scribbling the band's name down on a piece of paper. Ben looked over again and said, "We're going to play our own song. It's called 'The Silence'."  
  
"M'kay. Done with your equipment?"  
  
"Hold on, just a couple more seconds. And...got it."  
  
The judges all sat back and prepared for the oncoming performance.  
  
Ben cracked his knuckles and screamed into the mic, "One two three four!"  
  
A speedy double-bass line erupted and the judges watched with interest as Dave continued to pound away. A low-tuned, high-tempo guitar riff followed, and then the vocals started, the room echoing with the growling lyrics.  
  
The silence, is intrusive is extensive, is elusive  
  
It's creeping inside of my head  
  
My senses are going dead  
  
The silence, is corrosive, is deafening, is explosive  
  
It takes over us as we listen to the deafening silence  
  
The silence, is corrupted, inside me, has erupted  
  
I want my own mind back; I can't seem to find it  
  
The silence, is corrosive, is deafening, is explosive  
  
It takes over us as we listen to the deafening silence  
  
The vocals stopped, and a slow guitar break followed. The tempo sped up little by little, before it had erupted into a full-blown solo. The judges were definitely impressed. The chorus resumed before one final drum bridge, which concluded the song. Ben wiped the sweat off his brow and asked, "What'd you guys think?"  
  
The judges glanced at each other once before standing up, applauding. All the guys grinned and took a bow. Except for Dave, who was kind of stuck behind the drums.  
  
"Did we qualify?" Beast Boy asked anxiously. Nick spoke up and said, "Definitely. Your performance and three others were the only ones that didn't suck horribly."  
  
Bobbo grinned. "Awesome."

* * *

Robin stood next to Starfire, hand in hand, weighing his options.  
  
"Hmmmm... 'Some Kind of Monster' or 'Regular People'...hmmm...Starfire, what do you think?" Robin mused. The Tamaran shrugged and said, "Whatever you want."  
  
"That's the whole problem, though. I don't know what I want"  
  
"Then I guess 'Regular People'. What's it about, anyway?" Starfire asked. Robin scratched his head and said, "I think it's supposed to be about some guy's personal politics. It's supposed to be really good, though."  
  
Starfire nodded and said, "Let's go see that then."  
  
Robin nodded and approached the ticket stand. "Two tickets for 'Regular People', please," he asked. A skinny, acne-ridden teenager stereotypical of the job, punched some numbers into a cash register and said, "That'll be $11.50, please."  
  
Robin reached into his pocket and pulled out a ten and a five-dollar bill. The attendant took the money and gave him his change.  
  
Starfire pulled him into the theater, eager to watch the movie. Robin followed, but paused to but some popcorn. After a couple minutes and a few complaints from an impatient Starfire, the couple walked into the dim, spacious viewing room.  
  
Apparently they had been very punctual, for the previews ended soon after their entrance. About two minutes into the movie, Robin found himself sneaking his hand around Starfire and pulling her in closer to him. Starfire grasped the hand around her waist and laid her head on Robin's shoulder again.  
  
The movie was all right, but Robin couldn't stay focused on it. Most of his time he found himself turning his attention away from the show to gaze at Starfire.  
  
'Holy God, you're beautiful,' he thought to himself. Or, so he thought.  
  
"Thank you, Robin," Starfire said, her face now a profound shade of burgundy. Robin then realized he had said it out loud, and nervously chuckled. Starfire reached over towards him and planted a short but affectionate kiss on his forehead. Robin grinned even wider and planted a quick peck on her cheek in return.

* * *

"Beast Boy, you did great," Raven said as she walked with Beast Boy, helping to carry some of the luggage back to the van.  
  
"What about us?" Ben said. "Didn't we do good?"  
  
"No, you did horrible," Raven joked. "An absolute disgrace to music."  
  
"Very funny," Bobbo said sardonically.  
  
As the five reached the van, Beast Boy swung open the doors to the trunk and shoved the amplifier in. Raven set Bobbo's bass guitar down next to it, and the other three set down whatever they were carrying down near it.  
  
"Beast Boy, you need a ride, or are you okay?" Dave asked as he pulled into the driver's seat and Ben hopped into the passenger side. Bobbo jumped into the trunk, along with all the equipment and rested his head on a cushy drum case that housed the tom drums. Beast Boy waved and said, "Nah, I can fly back. Thanks anyway, though."  
  
"Just make sure you're in one piece for the finals."  
  
"Will do," Beast Boy said as he watched the large van speed away.

* * *

Starfire grabbed Robin's arm affectionately as he opened the door to the Tower.  
  
"Robin, I enjoyed that movie, did you?" Starfire asked as she pulled the masked leader in closer. Robin shrugged and said, "It was alright."  
  
Starfire giggled and kissed him on lips. "You were too busy admiring me to even notice the movie."  
  
Robin grinned and said, "Yeah, but it's hard to do otherwise."  
  
Starfire giggled again and pressed her lips to his in a more affectionate kiss than before. Robin tossed his arms around her and deepened the kiss, the two of them falling back onto the sofa. As the two continued their affectionate play, Robin found himself moving his hand slowly up Starfire's stomach and onto her breast. Starfire was surprised, but didn't stop him.  
  
After about fifteen minutes, they were both exhausted, not to mention the fact it was getting late. Starfire broke the kiss and yawned. She gave him one last kiss on the lips before saying, "That's enough for one night."  
  
Robin groaned and said, "No it isn't." He pressed his lips, once again, towards Starfire's, not wanting their fun to end. Starfire closed her eyes and let him move his tongue towards hers, but she found she was too tired. She yawned again, and then abruptly fell asleep, leaving Robin very disappointed.  
  
He gave up and pulled a nearby blanket over the two of them. He moved a little so that he was lying behind Star and so that he could wrap his arms around her waist.  
  
"Oh well...this is good too."

* * *

Sorry it took so long to update, but again, I've been depressed.  
  
Next time: The Battle of the Bands finals! But while Carmen, Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Raven are out, it's up to Starfire and Robin to investigate the mysterious bombing of the New Achievement House. And who is Deep Throat? 


	12. Deep Throat Part 2

Poor Twisted Me Chapter 12  
  
H**i** everyone! I'm not depressed anymore. Well, not as much anyway. Since nobody seems to know which chapter was their favorite, I've decided that the only time I'll ask another poll is when it'll affect the **s**tory itself. Which reminds me...  
  
I've been a little **t**orn over which genre I should focus on more. I like writing the fight scenes most, but according to you guys, I do romance and humor just as well. So, I'll leave it up to you guys to decide for me. W**h**ich genre should I focus on in the next few chapters? Action, romance, humor, or other? If it's other, tell me which one.  
  
Time to answer revi**e**ws!  
  
Kestrel- Yay! I piqued you curiosity. I feel special. Yeah, I knew Starfire wouldn't fit in at the Battle of the Bands, and I knew I had been lax on StarxRob fluff, so I killed two birds with one stone. And don't wo**r**ry, I'm less depressed now   
  
CD lover- Hmm...maybe...maybe not. I'll give you a couple hints: Deep Throat could be anybody that has been mentioned in this story. So Deep Throat could be James from Chapter 2, for all we know...so what you should do is make a list of **e**very single person in this story, and cross each person off when you're sure he/she can't be Deep Throat. But be careful, 'cause I can be pretty tricky...  
  
Moezy-chan- Yeah, it was nice doing some RobStar after so much BBRae. Well, I'd rather do the latter, but it was still **n**ice.  
  
ScarletAngel68- Yeah, you'd be surprised how much foreshadowing I've thrown into this story. Bet you can't find them all...is it really? I'm flattered! Never thought this story was that good. Yeah, I loved that name. At first I wanted to put in more cryptology, like having his name be Abbirm, which is Multiplication Cipher for Lyrim, but I sort of...forgot. Yeah, I didn't exactly come up with that insult off the t**o**p of my head. It took a while to come up with, but it was another of those 'Eureka!' moments. And a mosh pit is a group of people, for a lack of a better word, dancing wildly to music, usually punk or metal. You won't see them at a rap or pop concert. It's really fun. And Beast Boy will get to beat up Izevm soon!!!!! Just be patient!!! Awwww, I love you too and that did make me feel better.  
  
Princess Cat- Hey, I make up words too! Like 'fhqgads' and 'bkdd'. That chapter was your favorite? Cool! And yeah, I did base Nick Lewok off of Simon. Actually, 'Lewok' in Hebrew is Atbash Cip**h**er for Cowell. Isn't that just peachy?  
  
Bold Achilles- Yeah it does suck, but I'm starting to get over it. Oooh, your experience is probably worse. The thing was, the girl I liked at least I was already really good friends with, but your scenario is much more of a down**e**r. Yeah, since you'll never guess where I got those titles from, I'll go ahead and tell you. 'Some Kind of Monster' is actually a real movie. It's a documentary on Metallica, and it'll come out sometime around July. 'Regular People' is a song by Pantera, which focuses a lot on personal politics, just like the movie. I'm smart, isn't I?

Darkfire- Jesus, how many b**l**ack roses have I gotten from you? I'm running out of places to put them all...can I have red roses this time? Hey, maybe you can give me a different colored rose for each chapter!  
  
KeLLy BeANz- Yeah, but can I still get a lifetime supply of coffee? And I just guessed. Hey, if I change my **p**en name to mynameiZmud, with a z, will I be cool like you? Just kidding. Yeah, it really sucks in Connecticut. I used to live in Chicago! Well, I was only like five years old. I wish I could go to Chicago though...and about Beast Boy's piercings, his piercings would be, if my parents would let me, my ideal choice for piercings and tattoos, especially that one on his back with the skeleton that says 'rock on'. You're getting your eyebrows pierced? That's hella awesome! And thanks, I'll remember that next time I'm depressed   
  
Beast Boy's girl- Hey, you can't be Beast Boy's girl! Raven is Beast Boy's girl! But seriously, I know how you feel. I**f** there's one thing I'm familiar with, it's break-ups.  
  
FanFic Gurl- Thank you! And I didn't come up with that name. Deep Throat was an anonymous person who was referenced multiple times in the Nixon tapes, whose identity still hasn't been discovered. Yeah, I get depressed a l**o**t. I have a lot to be depressed about. And...holy crap!! Do you live in New Fairfield, by any chance? Because that's where the other team on my grade is going for a field trip! Maybe I know you...  
  
Commander-cane17- you really think so? Awesome! Yeah, if I owned Teen Titans (which I don't) the**r**e would definitely be some changes. For one, Terra would be dead. Two, I would cause Aqualad some form of extreme pain. Third, umm, some other stuff. Yeah. Don't go crazy! You can be schizophrenic if you want, though.  
  
And remember when I said that Robin and Starfire would have to investigate the bombing of the Achievement House? Well...I couldn't fit that in without fucking the story up really badly, so I scrapped it for ano**t**her idea. Sorry!

* * *

-Titans Tower, 7 A.M.-  
  
Robin's eyes slowly fluttered open, straining against the morning sunlight. His eyes squeezed back shut, trying to block out the blinding sunlight. He was about to fall back asleep when a familiar voice called out.  
  
"Have fun last nig**h**t, Robin?" Beast Boy's voice called out from the kitchen. Robin threw the blanket off of him, and then realized Starfire was still asleep next to him. Careful not to disturb the sleeping beauty, he got up from the couch and walked over to the kitchen to find Beast Boy and Raven already eating breakfast. Upon entering the kitchen, Beast Boy flashed Robin a huge thumbs-up and said, "Way to go Robin!"  
  
Raven just rolled her eyes and quietly sipp**e**d her herbal tea. Beast Boy may have aged three years, but he would always have a little bit of child in him.  
  
Robin sighed, knowing what he meant. When Beast Boy tipped his head back to drink from his cup of coffee, Robin hit the bottom of the mug so that the coffee spilled onto Beast Boy's shirt and face.  
  
"Ahh! That was hot! And this is a new shirt! And it was hot! Owwwww!!!"  
  
"Beast Boy, that shirt isn't new. You got it weeks ago," Raven said as she tried to hide a smirk. Beast Boy stuck his tongue out at her. Raven stuck her tongue back at him teasingly. Beast Boy reached out and licked the side of her cheek playfully. Raven groaned and **w**iped the saliva off her cheek. Robin rolled his eyes and said, "Get a room, you two."  
  
Beast Boy grinned. Normally, he would've commented on what a good idea that was, but his common sense told him not to.  
  
"You're one to be talking, Rob**i**n?"  
  
Some common sense.  
  
Robin rolled his eyes and said, "Yeah, I am. Especially since there's still some coffee left in that mug."  
  
Beast Boy grinned and said, "Yeah, but I've got the mug."  
  
Raven got up and walked into the living room, tiring of their incessant belligerence. She took a seat, careful not to step on the sleeping Starfire, and flipped on the news. Some story about the rise in childhoo**d** obesity was being reported. She lost interest soon after, and flipped off the television just as Starfire began to rise.  
  
The redhead yawned and mumbled tiredly. Throwing the crimson blanket over the top of the couch, she languorously shuffled into the kitchen. Raven shrugged. Starfire had never been active in the morning, despite her unremitting vigor at just about the rest of the time. She flipped through the channels, trying to find something of the slightest interest. Nearly a thousand channels and nothing to watch. Then again, it was seven **o**'clock in the morning.  
  
Beast Boy walked out of the kitchen and plopped onto the seat next to Raven. He smiled and gave her a good-morning kiss on the cheek. Raven smiled and laid her head on his shoulder.  
  
"Ready for the finals, BB?"  
  
"You bet, hun."  
  
Raven bolted up and stared straight at him. "Did you just call me 'hun'?"  
  
Beast Boy blushed and said, "Yeah, I guess I did. Let me guess- if I call you that again, you'll hurt me."  
  
Raven rolled her eyes upward and said, "Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of mental abu**s**e, but that's good too."  
  
"Very funny."

* * *

-Battle of the Bands, Noon-  
  
Beast Boy sat on an amplifier as he chatted with Carmen. He didn't know why, but they ended up conversing in Spanish. Maybe it was just easier for Carmen; it was her first language, after all.  
  
Cyborg and Raven had not a single shred of background in Spanish, so they had reverted to chatting with the rest of Fallen Cherub. The other bands lazing about backstage didn't appear too social. After what seemed like a lifetime, Nick Lewok walked out from another room and whistled to grab everyone's attention. The lingering bands turned around and lent him their ears as he explained the rules for the finals. They weren't long; they mostly consisted of what you couldn't do or write on the ballots (hey Kelly, remember that?). After going through the rules, Nick announced the order of the performances.  
  
"Okay...first performance...Black Plague, m'kay? Second performance is Afaern, third is Xanruha, fourth is Lord of Flies, fifth is Fallen Cherub, sixth is N.I.B., seventh is the Frayed Ends of Sanity, eighth is War Pigs, ninth is Climbing Up To The Bottom, and tenth is A Red Path, m'kay?" the judge called out. Evidently he liked the word 'mkay'. Each band took note of their position and made a mental note to remember who was in what band.  
  
Beast Boy wrote his place on the palm of his hand. It wouldn't be too long of a wait. After all, how long could the band's **s**ongs be?

* * *

Deep Throat walked along the rock outcroppings nearby Titans Tower, waiting for the opportune moment. Fenrir walked alongside him, ready to pounce at a moments notice if Deep Throat was to do something against his accord. He really didn't like this guy.  
  
Deep Throat waited until he was sure none of his antagonists were looking his way, then ran over the rocks to Titans T**o**wer. How he wished he could fly.  
  
Fenrir jogged slightly ahead of him. The dark hound could easily leave Deep Throat in the dust, but he didn't want to do anything against Lyrim's will.  
  
Upon reaching their destination, Deep Throat mentally searched the Tower to see who was in it right now. He could only sense their leader and the Tamaran. The others must be out. No matter. The masked one would do just fine.  
  
Deep Throat concentrated his energy on Robin.  
  
"Find your center," he said to himself, thinking out loud. Fenrir growled and began hunting a small lizard passing by. The tiny reptile scurried along a small pebble before being snatched up by the creature's jaws. Fenrir chewed his prey lazily, and then looked for something else to quench his boredom.  
  
Deep Throat paid no mind to Fe**n**rir, but focused as he found his target: Robin's mind.

* * *

"Robin, where is the milk?" Starfire innocently asked as she sifted through the refrigerator. Robin looked over from his seat on the couch and said, "I think we drank it all. We'll have to go to the..." Robin's last sentence trailed off as he lost consciousness and fell back onto the floor, out cold.

* * *

"What the hell..." Robin said to himself as he sat up. He tried to notice his surroundings, but his vision was still slightly blurry.  
  
"Robin..." a gruff and brusque voice echoed, the sounds reverberating around him like a gnat. The masked leader blindly yelled out, "Hello?"  
  
"Robin..." the voice repeated. Robin fumbled around blindly and repeated, "Hello? Who's there?"  
  
"Robin...I'm coming for you..."  
  
Okay, now Robin had ample reason to start being freaked out. His vision became clear again, but he saw nothing but black. It was like he was in a black hallway with no brightness at midnight.  
  
"Who are you?!" Robin yelled out, only to be answered by another "Robin..."  
  
Robin covered his ears with his hands in that oh-so familiar 'I'm not listening!' pose.  
  
"Stop it!"  
  
'Robin..."  
  
"No!"  
  
"ROBIN! WAKE UP!" the gruff voice was replaced by the welcoming intonation of Starfire. His milieu suddenly disappeared, replaced by familiar ceiling of his home. He saw Starfire crouched over him with a worried look on her face. Scratch that- a terrified look on her face, her eyes welling up with tears of concern. When the Tamaran saw that Robin was awake, she let out a squeal of rejoice and threw her arms around him.  
  
"Robin! You are well!"  
  
Although he was fine, his physical well-being was going to be thrown out of the window if Star kept hugging him that hard.  
  
"Star...can't breath..."  
  
The Tamaran let go of him and immediately started badgering him with questions about what happened. They were kind of hard to answer, seeing as Robin had no idea.  
  
"Starfire...I don't know what happened. One minute I'm fine, then the next I'm in some pitch-black place with somebody telling me he's out to get me," Robin said, with a slight groan. Starfire didn't know how to respond, so she merely sat by his side trying to think of an idea. Suddenly, it came to her.  
  
"Robin! Maybe Izevm can help! He does know a lot about these kind of things," Starfire suggested. Robin thought about it, and complied, seeing no other option. He whipped out his communicator and called Izevm.  
  
(Okay, I know that I never said that Izevm had a communicator. I kind of...forgot. So from now on, he does, m'kay?)  
  
The communicator flashed on, and Robin saw the familiar jet-black hair and eyes of Izevm. His hood was down, and Robin saw that trees, most likely in the focal point of a forest, surrounded him.  
  
Izevm smiled slightly upon seeing him and said, "Robin, this is surprising. Something troubles you, I can sense it."  
  
Robin nodded and said, "Yeah...I just lost consciousness a couple minutes ago for no reason at all. Then I was in some kind of dream thing, and a voice was telling me that he was coming for me. It was really freaky."  
  
Izevm frowned. He took a minute to ponder, and then said, "Sounds serious. Maybe I should come and stay for a little while longer, so if this happens again, I can see it first-hand."  
  
Robin remembered the tension between Izevm and Beast Boy on the last visit, and the last thing he wanted right now was fighting. However, he didn't see an alternative.  
  
"Sure."

* * *

"Ladies and gentleman, get ready for LORD OF FLIES!" the announcer yelled, the last threes words loud and growling. The crowd erupted into a roar of activity and applause as three guys walked onto the stage. The singer wasted no time in exploding right into a fast-tempo, punkish song. Truth be told, it wasn't that great. The cheer of the crowd started turning into boos, although some of the fans still appeared to be enjoying. After what seemed like ages, the song ended with one last riff. Beast Boy kicked Dave in the leg, who was staring off into space, to get his attention.  
  
"Dave! We're up!" Beast Boy hissed. Dave bolted out of his trance and followed Beast Boy onto the stage just as the announcer finished introducing them.  
  
Upon entering the rostrum, Dave seated himself at his drum set. Ben casually picked up his guitar, obviously improne to stage fright. Bobbo was a little more nervous, but didn't let it show. Beast Boy picked up his guitar, his anxiety melting away as he heard the bellow of the crowd.  
  
Ben screamed "One, two, three, four!" before jumping headfirst into Damageplan's 'Breathing New Life".  
  
(A/n: Just like in chapter 8 with 'Roulette', listen to the song before reading this, so you can understand how awesome that solo it, m'kay?)  
  
Can you feel it building?  
Devastation is on the way  
Feel the hair on the back of your neck  
As the rush begins  
  
You can't take it away  
  
I earned this with sweat and blood  
  
You can't take it away  
  
Take what's mine  
  
Breathing new life, back into me  
  
Challenging all the powers that be  
  
Can you feel it slipping?  
  
As you lose your grip on me  
  
Can you face that I won in the end?  
  
I can't keep from laughing  
  
Don't you see it coming?  
  
When you've caught on, it's too late  
  
When it hits, don't forget who I am  
  
Don't forget this face  
  
Midway between the song, Beast Boy began letting out slow, distorted notes as Ben played rhythm. The tempo got faster and faster as he climbed up the neck, ending the solo with a speedy slew of notes.  
  
The crowd erupted into a deafening roar of support, and began chanting their name.  
  
As the four walked off the stage, Beast Boy spotted Raven running toward him. He out his guitar down and held out his arms as they both embraced. Raven broke the hug and said, "Beast Boy, that was awesome!"  
  
"Nice job, BB," Cyborg said as he appeared behind Raven, with his arm around Carmen's waist. The hybrid slapped Beast Boy and the others a congratulatory hi-five.  
  
Ben grinned and said, "Think we'll win?"  
  
The group all, with the exception of Bobbo, unanimously voiced their support. Bobbo, however, being the pessimist, or realist depending on your opinion, that he was, remained silent.

* * *

-Back at Titans Tower-  
  
Izevm walked casually up to the front door and rang the doorbell. A few seconds later, a panting Starfire appeared, and invited him in.  
  
"Good...to see you...again, Izevm!" Starfire said, pausing between words to catch her breath. The Azareth nodded and said, "Same here, Starfire, although I wish it could be under better circumstances."  
  
Starfire nodded before gliding back into the living room. Robin was seated at the couch, reading a magazine. Izevm frowned and said, "Where are the others?". But in reality, he was only asking because of Raven.  
  
Robin looked over at him and said, "They're all at the Battle of the Bands. Beast Boy's band, Fallen Cherub, is competing."  
  
Izev**m** refrained from commenting. Starfire looked at him and noticed that his decapitated hand had been replaced by another hand, most likely because of Izevm's wide array of spells. She didn't say anything, so as not to **u**nintentionally upset him.  
  
Izevm pulled up his hood, which made Starfire kind of edgy. She had good reason; with his hood up, he looked like the Grim Reaper.

* * *

Nick Lewok walked onto the stage and was greeted by a round of applause. He smiled and said, "Thank you. Now, let's cut the crap and get onto what you've all been waiting for: the awards!"  
  
The crowd erupted from loud applause into a vociferous roar. Nick Lewok grinned even bigger and said, "First off...the 'Crappiest Performance' award goes too...Climbing Up to the Bottom!"  
  
The ban**d** members walked up to the stage and bowed. Thank god they were good sports. The singer grinned and picked up a gold trophy that had a sculpture of a man on stage with tomatoes being thrown at him.  
  
"Next...the 'Best Solo' award goes to..." he paused for dramatic effect, much to the disdain of the crowd.  
  
"...Gar Logan of Fallen Cherub!"  
  
Beast Boy felt the butterflies in his chest disappear as he walked up to the stage and grabbed his prize from the smiling N**i**ck. The cheering crowd began chanting his name even after he had walked off the stage. Nick waved his arms and yelled to calm the energetic crowd. They finally settled down and Nick began his next announcement.  
  
"Now, the moment you've all been waiting for! Fifth place goes to...Xanruha!"  
  
The crowd broke into their usual ritual of cheered as Xanruha walked onto the stage to accept their award.  
  
"Fourth place goes to...War Pigs!"  
  
"Third place goe**s** to...Fallen Cherub!"  
  
Raven saw Beast Boy's shoulders slump slightly as he, Ben, Bobbo, and Dave walked up onto the stage. Although he tried to conceal his disappointment when he walked back, Raven still noticed it. She placed a comforting arm around his shoulders and said, "Cheer up, Beast Boy."  
  
Beast Boy smiled slightly and returned the hug. "Thanks, Raven."

* * *

"See you guys later!" Carmen said as she waved the rest of Fallen Cherub goodbye. Ben waved from the **d**river seat of his truck and said, "Bye!". Cyborg noticed the trophy was clutched in Dave's hands. There had been an initial argument over who was going to keep the trophy, but after some haggling they had decided to make a room in Ben's house that would house all of the band's awards, which allowed Beast Boy to keep his trophy.  
  
As Carmen, Cyborg, Raven, and Beast Boy watched the car shrink into the distance, Cyborg began walking back to the T-Car, motioning for everyone else to follow. Carmen hopped into the passenger side and fastened the seatbelt. Cyborg had asked her if she wanted to have dinner at their place, and of course sh**e** complied. Raven scooted over into the back while Beast Boy loaded his guitar and amp into the trunk. He had some trouble fitting it, with all the junk Cyborg stored in there, but got it in there eventually. He hopped in next to Raven holding his award tightly.  
  
Cyborg started the car, and began gushing over his car like he did every time he drove. Beast Boy h**a**d learned to tune him out after a while.  
  
Thankfully, the drive wasn't that long. The last thing Beast Boy wanted to do was sit still. His adrenaline was still flowing from all those performances. At one point, he and Cyborg began arguing over the radio station, but an agitated Raven "persuaded" them to stop the operative word being "persuaded".  
  
After about fifteen minutes, Cyborg pulled the T-Car into the garage and got out. Beast Boy jumped out and ran over to the trunk to retrieve his equipment. He thrust his trophy into Raven's hands and said, "Can you hold that? I need to get my stuff."  
  
Raven patiently waited as he sifted through the plethora of junk lying in the trunk. He finally found it and began running up the stairs. Raven found it really strange that he had so much energy now.  
  
"Hey Robin! Guess what!" Beast Boy said as he burst into the living room. He stoppe**d** before saying something else when he saw that cloaked figure, his object of hate.  
  
"Izevm!"

* * *

Okay! As some of you might have noticed, I changed the chapter order around a bit. Now I'm counting the prologue as a chapter, since it was getting annoying reading reviews for chapter ten when the chapter had "chapter nine" at the beginning. I bet none of you know what the hell I am talking about.  
  
Next time: Ah, forget it. After this chapter's plot fiasco, I decided that having a preview made it so that if I didn't stick exactly to it, I would look like I screwed up.  
  
Okay, so read and tell me what you think! 


	13. Deep Throat Part 3

Poor Twisted Me Chapter 13  
  
Hi everyone! Remember how I said that I was taking a creative break? Well...my creative break was a lot shorter than I thought it would be, since I had all these ideas buzzing around in my head that were driving me crazy. So pick up a bottle of champagne, 'cause I'm back!  
  
Also, please note that I am no longer MyNameIsMud19524. I have now changed my pen name to Ozzy Anmudis. No particular reason, I just got tired of my old one.  
  
One a different note, there were two reviewers, ScarletAngel68 and Fanfic Gurl, who noticed that the bold letters in chapter 12 spelled out 'Is there help for the widow's son?' and 'Mud is dead'. No, I am not dead; I just threw those in there that to see if anyone would notice. To the two people who caught that, I am dedicating the chapter to you.  
  
Oh yeah, the votes from chapter 12's poll are in:  
  
Action: 2 Romance: 5 Humor: 1  
  
So, it seems you guys want some more romance. And don't worry; although this chapter seems action-geared (and it is), that's only because I have to make the plot flow smoothly. I will put romance in whenever I can!  
  
Okay, review answering time!  
  
Moezy-chan- Um, I think you got a little confused there. I was asking what genre should I focus on, not what this story is. But who cares? I still value your reviews.  
  
PrincessCat- Uhhh...can you please not tell me how to write my story? I know everyone is dying for the fight between Izevm and Beast Boy, but just hold on! It'll come in due time, young grasshopper   
  
Darkfire- Yay, I got a different color! Surprise me this time!  
  
Metallikid- Yeah, I wanted them to win too. I was like 'No, Ozzy, make them win!' Then I was like 'No Ozzy, I don't feel like it!' Yeah, I kinda talk to myself. That is normal, right? In reality, though, I had meant for the Battle of the Bands to serve as just a bridge between the Orion arc and the Deep Throat arc. I'll have something like that once this arc is over, something most likely romance-geared. I won't give too much away, though   
  
Cd lover- Hey, there's nothing wrong with lemons! The only reason I don't have them is because I feel kind of awkward writing them...but anyways, that's why. Yes, Izevm will die soon enough!  
  
Bold Achilles- Is it just me, or are you always looking up from a show when you review? No matter. You get Guitar World? I've wanted to get Snaggletooth, since it's more geared toward metalheads like me, but I've been flat broke ever since I got my iPod. I haven't heard of In Flames, but I have heard of Meshuggah, who are also from Sweden. Yeah, Swedish fish do rock Is that true about Hendrix? You know, 'Voodoo Child' was ranked the third greatest solo of all time on Blender's top 100 solos. 'Stairway to Heaven' got first, which I didn't really agree with. I mean it's an awesome solo, but definitely not the best of all time.  
  
A LiL CherrY 4 A BravE WolF- You know, my spellchecker was going crazy as I was typing your name. BBRAE FOREVER! Yeah, I remember when I first went to second grade, and I was using words nobody knew. Like 'immature', and 'brush'. Ah, those were the days. On second though, they really sucked ass. As for the Izevm comment, I really put a lot of effort into characterizing Izevm in a way that would make everyone utterly despise him. Is your name really Cherry, or is that a nickname? I've seen people named 'Sherry'; so one letter difference couldn't be that implausible.  
  
StarfireRobin4Ever- Honestly, I have really been trying to put in a bunch of RobStar fluff! I mean, chapter 11 was all RobStar...but maybe you didn't read that, since I never saw a review for that chapter from you...but keep in mind that with the return of Izevm, there's likely going to be more BBRae fluff. I will try though!  
  
Kestrel- you had a tree land on your house? Awesome! My school had two bomb threats in two weeks, but that wasn't as awesome, since we had to stand in the pouring rain for an hour the second time. Anyways, yeah. Beast Boy and Robin's fight at the beginning was my favorite part to write...I was laughing my ass off as I was.  
  
ScarletAngel68- Yes, it may have appeared that Robin's reaction was disproportional to his threat, but remember that we don't know how powerful Deep Throat is. Well, you don't know. I do . AND THANK YOU! You are the only person that is actually being patient! Have a cookie. As for my little 'subliminal message', there wasn't any real purpose. Like I said before, I just threw it in there to see if anyone would catch it.  
  
Kelly- yeah, as I was writing that scene, I suddenly had a flashback to when you told me about the one you went to. Yes, we all need a few laughs occasionally. I have an uncanny ability to laugh at myself...  
  
On with the story!

* * *

Deep Throat smoothly walked over the numerous mounds of rocks and boulders that littered his path. Ducking under an inconspicuous and stumpy overhang, he smirked as he heard Fenrir nick his toe on one of the stones and yelp reflexively. Deep Throat moved a boulder aside to reveal the residence of Lyrim.  
  
Lyrim had been tolerantly sitting on a hump of rock he often used as a chair, leafing through his venerated spell book. The dark mage looked up from his reading and saw his cloaked comrade amble leisurely into his abode, with Fenrir crawling in behind him.  
  
"Was the message delivered successfully?" Lyrim asked. Deep Throat nodded, his hood folding at the ends when his head lowered.  
  
"Yes, Lyrim. The jumpy little cretin freaked out and called over that Azareth, Izevm," Deep Throat said, his scratchy and abrasive voice resounding faintly off the rock walls of the abode.  
  
Lyrim looked interestingly at the cloaked figure, his interest piqued. Fenrir growled and began picking through the rocks and gravel that beleaguered the floor, hoping to find something to preoccupy his divertible mind.  
  
"What should we do, then, Deep Throat?"  
  
Deep Throat chuckled, a tone of maliciousness in his voice. Fenrir growled, his boredom turning into frustration.  
  
"Whatever it takes to silence them all."

* * *

-Titans Tower-  
  
"Izevm!" Beast Boy yelled, clenching his fists so hard that his fingernails were leaving imprints on the palm of his hand.  
  
The Azareth looked over at him and innocently said, "Yes?"  
  
"What the hell are you doing here?"  
  
Izevm made a fake pouting face. "It seems Robin has a stalker that can communicate through dreams. He called me over to see if I could help him out, so I here I am."  
  
Raven walked through the door, holding Beast Boy's trophy. She gasped very quietly at the sight of Izevm, and before she could ask the question herself, he answered it for her.  
  
"If you're wondering why I am here, Robin can tell you. I will be up on the roof meditating if you need me."  
  
Before she could respond, he walked off, his cloak swirling around elegantly as he turned. Raven turned to Robin, who was sitting on the couch with an icepack on his head. Starfire was crouched down next to him, grasping his hand tightly. Robin sat up slowly and groaned, his head beginning to ache again. Starfire moved closer towards him reflexively, but he held out his hand and said, "I'm fine."  
  
Cyborg and Carmen walked in through the door, hands linked. Robin rubbed his forehead before saying, "So, you want to know what happened?"  
  
Beast Boy set down his equipment and moved next to Raven, interested as to what happened. Raven nodded curtly as she saw Carmen and Cyborg turn their heads attentively.  
  
Robin sighed and said, "So, about a couple hours ago, I was looking through the refrigerator for some milk..."  
  
-Titans Tower, roof-

* * *

Izevm was quietly sitting cross-legged, a black aura glowing around him as he chanted the words, "Azareth...Izevm...Destino...Azareth...Izevm...Destino..."  
  
Not a single sound perturbed the air, save the quiet sound of the breeze gently brushing against the foliage and the diminutive waves lapping softly against the shoreline. Izevm found himself putting his meditation on hold to gaze appreciatively at the milieu that surrounded him.  
  
"Such a beautiful place...a real shame there's nothing like this on Azareth."  
  
His musings were interrupted by an irate shriek that pierced the silence hanging in the air. He snapped his head around quickly, and saw Fenrir, wings spread out, flying towards him, fangs bared. Izevm leapt up as Fenrir sped with surprising acceleration towards him. The apocalyptic hound swerved up and roared maliciously at Izevm before diving back down. Izevm dodged to his right and threw a ball of black energy at Fenrir just as the demonic hound was regaining his balance. Fenrir roared in pain as the sphere collided and exploded, creating a giant veil of smoke. Izevm coughed from the residue and rubbed his eyes, the smoke irritating them. Fenrir recovered quicker than Izevm, and zoomed towards the Azareth, his anger fueling attacks. Fenrir stretched out his claws as he neared his target, his bloodthirsty augmenting with each passing inch. Izevm did not regain himself quick enough, and opened his eyes just in time to see Fenrir's claws an inch from his face. Izevm yelled and reflexively ducked down, preventing Fenrir from beheading him. The bottom of his claws did, however, scrape the top of his scalp, soaking his jet-black hair with blood. All of this happened in approximately five seconds.  
  
Izevm screamed louder from the pain, his cries echoing against the walls of Titans Tower. He spotted Fenrir gliding up, preparing to strike again. Izevm growled and threw a volley of black energy at the demonic hound. Fenrir, having gotten overly confident, was not expecting Izevm's retaliation, and was thus hit head-on.  
  
Fenrir roared as Izevm's attack tore a hole in the skin of his wing, and glided erratically towards the roof of Titans Tower to keep from falling out of the sky.  
  
Izevm, however, had already been slightly dizzy from the loss of blood, and after the recent discharge, he found all of his energy escaping him. His vision blackened, and the last image he saw before his consciousness escaped him was the shape of Fenrir approaching him.

* * *

-Titans Tower, inside-  
  
Robin looked up from his explanation when he heard a strangely familiar noise coming from the roof. Evidently, he was not alone; for he saw everyone else more or less shift his or her gaze up to the source.  
  
Starfire rose from the couch with a tone of worry in her voice. "Friends, I believe that Izevm may be in trouble. We must assist him!"  
  
Robin nodded and said, "Right. He could be in trouble."  
  
Beast Boy was about to object when Raven put a hand on his shoulder and said, "Beast Boy, just because he's an ass doesn't mean you need to shirk his life."  
  
Beast Boy reluctantly nodded.  
  
A few seconds later, upon reaching the roof, Beast Boy didn't see anything. Which, in of itself was something, since Izevm should be here.  
  
A chilling shriek was heard from not too far off, and Robin turned his attention to the source. To his surprise, he saw a familiar shape flying off in the distance, carrying something in his claws. Upon looking closer, Robin saw that it was a limp and ragged Izevm.  
  
"Titans, GO!" he yelled, and jumped into Starfire's arms as she took flight. Beast Boy transformed into a large condor and grabbed Cyborg with his talons, flapping his extravagant wings and becoming airborne. Raven quickly followed, although still in disbelief over who, or rather what, they were chasing.  
  
"Didn't Ben kill Fenrir when he had his little episode?" Raven asked curiously. Robin looked over at her and said, "I thought so too. I guess Fenrir's resurrection powers go farther than we thought."  
  
Raven nodded slightly as the group continued speeding through the air. Fenrir must have saw them, because he swerved sharply down, making Starfire skid in mid-air and nearly drop Robin.  
  
Beast Boy looked down and saw Fenrir gliding not towards them, but rather away from them. Cyborg must have seen it too, because he afterward said, "He must not be after us this time!"  
  
Robin nodded grimly and said, "Titans, get him!"  
  
The Titans sprinted as fast as they could through the air, gaining on Fenrir every second. Starfire let go of Robin with one hand and readied a starbolt in another, preparing to strike. However, the split-second before she attacked, Fenrir stopped in mid-air, turned around, and opened his jaws, revealing his irreconcilable fangs. Starfire yelped and ducked down, avoiding him the exact moment he snapped down with enough strength to pierce solid steel. Starfire took too long to regain herself, and Fenrir thus managed to gain a good couple hundred meters on her. Beast Boy flew past her, Raven not far behind him. The Tamaran hustled as quickly as possible, but it was not long before Fenrir was out of her sight.

* * *

Fenrir dove down to the hideout, and dumped Izevm's body down on the ground next to Lyrim. Before the dark made could comment, Fenrir flew back up into the sky without a word.  
  
Deep Throat rose from his seat and said smugly, "Well, Lyrim, it appears we have tied up another loose end."  
  
Lyrim grinned. "Indeed we have."  
  
Deep Throat pulled a bottle out from under his cloak. "On Earth, it is customary to have a bottle of this to mark a special occasion. I believe it is called champagne," he said, opening the bottle, paying no mind to bubbles flowing freely out of the top.  
  
Lyrim paid no mind as Deep Throat handed him the bottle. Taking a swig straight from the glass, he wiped the moisture off his lips and sighed. A little sour, but refreshing nonetheless. He frowned as he felt a strange itching feeling in his throat, but ignored it. The dark mage handed the bottle to Deep Throat, who shook his head and declined. Lyrim shrugged and threw the bottle against the stone wall, causing the glass to shatter and leave the broken shards laying ominously on the floor.  
  
Deep Throat suddenly began laughing manically. Lyrim raised an eyebrow, and then gasped as Deep Throat lowered his hood.  
  
"Surprise!" the now unmasked Deep Throat growled, his voice now raspier than ever. Lyrim roared and tried to attack him, but he found his vision blackening, and his mind slowing. His throat closed up, causing him to gasp for breath. As his thoughts darkened, he realized that he was the only one privy to Deep Throat's identity. That made him a liability alive.  
  
Dead, however, that liability was nonexistant.  
  
The last thing Lyrim heard before the darkness overtook him was the cruel laughter of his assailant.  
  
As Lyrim fell, Deep Throat headed out towards the direction of Fenrir and his battle with the Titans.  
  
'Only a few more loose ends to tie up,'

* * *

"Friends! Fenrir has returned!" Starfire yelled, setting Robin down on a rock outcropping. The masked leader growled and whipped out his Bo-staff, readying himself for an attack. Beast Boy set Cyborg down as well, and shape-shifted into a pterodactyl. Raven's eyes turned white as a black aura surrounded her.  
  
Fenrir swerved down under an overpass, shielding him from the eyes of the Titans. Cyborg scratched his head, wondering where he went.  
  
"Cyborg! Look out!" Raven yelled. The hybrid turned around to see Fenrir charging straight at him. Cyborg ducked and fired his sonic cannon reflexively, although missing. The shot fired off into the distance, dissipating over the horizon. Fenrir folded his wings back and landed on the rock outcropping where the Titans were situated.  
  
A loud roar erupted from Fenrir's throat, and he leaped at Beast Boy. The green changeling flew up, avoiding the charge. Fenrir landed nimbly on his feet, jumping to the side to avoid an attack from Starfire. Robin jumped at the demonic hound, swinging his Bo-staff at Fenrir. The masked leader's superior speed and precision allowed him to strike a blow to Fenrir's jaw, making him recoil back in pain.  
  
Fenrir roared and swiped at Robin, adrenaline now rushing through his veins. Robin jumped back and blocked the blow with his staff. Fenrir was about to recoil and strike again, when he was struck by a torrent of black energy balls. He yelped and rolled out of the way, only to be met by the head on tackle of a green tiger. Beast Boy roared and slashed at Fenrir, leaving deep gashes in his leathery skin. Fenrir growled and leaped at Beast Boy, slashing blindly in rage. Beast Boy swerved left and right, trying to avoid the attacks.  
  
Fenrir was tiring; it was evident in his movements. Each passing from Beast Boy wounded him more, and each unsuccessful retaliation only served to exhaust him further. Beast Boy began to slow too, letting his guard down ever so slightly. Fenrir noticed this, and gave one last burst of energy, although not aimed at Beast Boy.  
  
Fenrir leaped with all his strength at Robin, who was not impulsive enough to fully dodge the apocalyptic beast. Fenrir's outstretched claws tore a huge opening in his chest and face, causing blood to flow summarily. However, Fenrir's leap had been overestimated, and when he looked for a place to land and react, he found air instead. He had jumped off the edge of the cliff.  
  
As Fenrir desperately tried to fly, he found it hopeless, as his wings were irreparably damaged from the fight. The demonic hound did nothing but close his eyes as he braced himself for the impact of water two hundred meters below him.  
  
SPLOOOOSH!!! The sound resonated against the canyon walls as Fenrir made contact with the surface of the water, making a gargantuan wave that furiously battered against the shores.  
  
Beast Boy reverted to his normal form and turned to Robin.  
  
"Is it just me, or whenever we fight that thing, you always seem to get slashed across the face?"

* * *

Deep Throat found the Titans just in time to see Fenrir's plummet from the sickening heights. Chuckling, he held out his hands, which began to glow black. The rock formations twisted around to his desire, making the Titans yell from surprise. He rearranged the rocks using his powers into a labyrinth of sorts, with the Titans stuck in the middle with no way out.  
  
He laughed and entered the maze on the other side of the Titans.  
  
"Time to play a little...cat and mouse."

* * *

Robin looked at Beast Boy upon his comment and replied, "Yeah, I guess you're right. Maybe it just doesn't like me."  
  
Beast Boy chuckled lightly as Raven walked over to Robin. The Azareth moved her hands over Robin's face as her hands glowed white with her healing powers. The gashed shrunk, and then finally disappeared. Robin smiled at her and said, "Thanks."  
  
Raven nodded and said flatly, "No problem."  
  
Starfire was about to say something when a loud tremor erupted under their feet. They all yelled from revelation as the rocks crumbled beneath them, like a child's Legos creation being thrust over and shattering into a million pieces.  
  
Cyborg yelped as he lost his balance, falling on his butt. Strangely, the rocks began rearranging themselves, at first into a sturdy base, and then walls began to sprout up. The walls continued to pop up until their surroundings had transformed into an elaborate warren.  
  
The Titans soon found themselves all alone in this enigmatic labyrinth. Starfire ran over to Robin and grabbed onto his arm.  
  
"Robin, I'm scared," she said, clinging tightly to him. Robin's face turned slightly red as he placed a comforting arm around Starfire's shoulders. Starfire whimpered slightly and held on even tighter.  
  
"It's alright, Starfire. I'm here."  
  
Although those words comforted his Tamaran aficionado, they offered to consolage to him. For deep down inside, he knew something bad, something very bad, was going to happen.  
  
And, as Karma would choose, he was right.

* * *

Woohoo! I'm back! Okay, so review and tell me what you think! Remember that I am no longer Mud now! Say hi to Ozzy! 


	14. Deep Throat Part 4

**Poor Twisted Me Chapter 14**  
  
Hi again! Ozzy here. Sorry it took so long to update! My computer crashed, so I couldn't write for a couple days, then I had to go to the Junior Olympics for track. I almost had my record for the 1500 broken. But the guy didn't get it! Ha! I win! But one of my relay teams got disqualified because of some gay rule about cutting in...and we had first place too. That really sucks ass, doesn't it? But school's finally out! Freedom! But I'm going to Texas in a couple days to visit my grandma. I guess I can try to update from there...  
  
I found a new muse! Wahoo! I feel like going on a writing spree!  
  
Anyways, review answering time!  
  
Moezy-chan- Yeah, a lot of the Teen Titans fics lately have been pretty sub par. Too bad...I guess I'll have to save everyone! I'm hurrying, I'm hurrying...  
  
Kestrel- I still can't believe you had a tree fall on your house! I want a tree to fall on my house...heehee. If you think there was a lot going on in the last chapter, wait until you see this one and the next...you'll never guess who Deep Throat is.  
  
Bold Achilles- (Looks up from your review) Hee. Actually, I'd prefer lambs to goats Yes, iPods are the best! I made it my goal to have every genre and sub genre of rock and metal in mine...and so far all I'm missing is forest metal. Not like it's common anyway... Rock on! m/  
  
LivingImpaired- Hey, you're living impaired? Is that even possible? And I'm writing, kill the motor   
  
Snea- Don't worry, this story is far from done. I want to try to get this story past 100,000 words if I can...  
  
Darkfire- whoa, I wasn't expecting color-changing roses...I don't know what color to ask for now...ah screw it. Don't hunt me down! If you hunt me down, then I can't update!  
  
On with the story!

* * *

Starfire looked around in search of an exit, but could see nothing but craggy walls of stone stretching as far as her line of sight would go. Every time she saw a single corridor ending, it would split into five more, and each of those would split again. Each wall was covered in letters that must be encrypted or something, since she could not make out any legible words. After a closer look, she saw the following letters written upon the wall:  
  
"Incito endo polis, praemoneo tu, tu nunc itio excedo vita procella proveutus, tu satius cello abusque corpusculum aestus fulguris endo polus diverti domuscus in prep scruta, diverti gentis in prep argilla, radior mens mentis putescere."  
  
She of course had no idea how to read it, let alone know what it meant.  
  
She grabbed onto Robin's arm and nuzzled into his chest. Robin reached his arm around her shoulders and held her closer.  
  
Raven looked around and said, "Okay...anybody have any ideas on how to get out of here?"  
  
Beast Boy and Cyborg both shook their heads vigorously. Robin and Starfire didn't seem to hear her.  
  
Raven sighed and sat down, thinking. Beast Boy put his hands on top of his heads and paced anxiously. Cyborg pulled out his sonic cannon and cockily said, "Why don't we just blast our way out of here?"  
  
Robin reached out a hand to protest, but before he could utter a word, Cyborg has begun to blast the lined partitions.  
  
BOOM! BOOM! His blasts hit the walls with great force, and the resulting sound echoed throughout the maze. Raven flinched from her seat in reflex, and Robin covered his ears from the noise. A large cloud of smoke arose from his blasts, but upon clearing, not a single scratch could be seen.  
  
Cyborg sighed and said, "I guess we're SOL then."  
  
They sat in absolute silence for God knows how long. The sounds of Beast Boy's shuffling feet began to bug Robin, and soon he yelled to Beast Boy, "Will you knock it off and sit still?!"  
  
The green shape shifter held his hands up and sat down quickly. He shook his head and said, "Robin, chill a little, will you?" Robin glared daggers at him and flipped him off.  
  
Starfire whimpered slightly and dug herself deeper into Robin. Robin's frustration at Beast Boy was waning, but the anxiety in the atmosphere was taking its toll on his nerves.  
  
Cyborg seemed almost angry with himself. Robin saw this, and pondered it for a period. He came up with various reasons as to why, ranging from the absence of Carmen to frustration at getting trapped here in the first place.  
  
Just as the disquiet seemed at its peak, Raven got up from her seat on the floor and said, "I think I know where to start."  
  
Beast Boy eagerly whipped his head around and asked, "Yeah?"  
  
Raven nodded and said, "If you take it from a logical point of view, this will make perfect sense. If we follow one side of the walls, we will eventually find the exit. Understand?"  
  
Beast Boy didn't get it, but he nodded anyway. His logic wasn't exactly Harvardesque.  
  
Cyborg sighed and nodded as well. Robin and Starfire broke from their embrace and conformed. Raven walked over to the nearest wall, placed a hand onto it, and began walking. Beast Boy shrugged and began following her, Cyborg tailing closely behind. The hybrid stopped for a minute and placed a loose wrench he had in his pocket onto the ground, to mark where they had begun. Robin and Starfire seemed kind of sluggish in their movements, however. About a minute of walking passed, and they were a good twenty yards behind their comrades. Raven yelled at them to hurry up, and they jogged quickly to catch up.

* * *

Deep Throat waved his hand horizontally, alternating different hands every two waves. A poof of blood-red gas arose from the space in the air where he had been waving. The anonymous entity began muttering almost incoherently.  
  
"Sjumbito irgo hexfi tivdelt," he mumbled. As the words escaped his lips, the cloud of smoke began taking the shape of a perfect sphere.  
  
"Uwemu ulwidolq wygow acksa," he repeated, the volume of his voice increasing. The sphere grew in size and became translucent, like a floating ball of red water.  
  
"Show me the Teen Titans," he said, his raspy voice returning to normal volume. The ball of smoke made a sound evocative of a snake hissing. The surface became opaque and distorted, like the surface of a pond after a rock was thrown in. The distorted shapes began to take form, and it only took a couple of seconds for the images of the Teen Titans to appear with perfect reception. They appeared to be on a steady route.  
  
Deep Throat chuckled roughly, his gruff voice reverberating against the walls that surrounded him.  
  
"I think I'll have some fun before destroying them," he said before raising his right hand up, which began glowing yellow. A loud rumbled was heard from the labyrinth below him as he rearranged the maze, the walls altering to his will.

* * *

Robin's patience was running thin after the end of their first hour in the maze. It was all the epitome of repetition. Starfire was still clinging to his arm, as if she was afraid to let him go. Robin didn't care; in fact, her touch made his fear ebb away. If anything, he was afraid to let her go.  
  
A loud reverberating shake could be heard from far off, then gained volume with each passing second until the ground underneath their very feet was shaking with passion. Beast Boy stumbled into the walls from the shockwaves and was almost knocked off his feet, but Raven grabbed his hand and held him up. Cyborg shook slightly but maintained a steady balance. Robin and Starfire were clinging to each other so tightly hardly anything could knock them down.  
  
The quakes resided, and the Titans all sighed with relief. They resumed walking, but after a couple minutes, Beast Boy had a thought pop into his head.  
  
He scratched his head. "Um, this is just a random thought, but don't we know someone who can move rock and cause earthquakes?" he said, not wanting to say her name aloud.  
  
His friends all stopped walking and looked at him, and then glanced at each other before saying, "No, it can't be...can it?"  
  
Beast Boy shrugged and said, "Just thinking aloud."  
  
They continued walking, not wanting to believe that Beast Boy was right. There was no way in hell she could still be alive.  
  
Two long, dreary hours passed. Two hours of monotonous walking, frustrating silence, and fearful anxiety passed before the group came upon a very familiar room.  
  
Cyborg scratched his head, piqued by the familiarity of this particular corridor. He shrugged it off, but stopped when he saw a wrench laying on the ground.  
  
"Guys, we've definitely been here before. I remember putting that wrench here to mark where we started!" Cyborg yelled with frustration. Starfire looked around, and saw that he was right. The same inscription on the wall that she had seen before was there. Raven looked at him blankly, although inside her rage was dying to get out. Beast Boy yelled loudly and punched the side of the wall. Which was pretty stupid, considering the hardness of the rock.  
  
"Ow! Shit, that hurt!" Beast Boy yelled, his knuckles red and cut from his hit. Raven rolled her eyes and said, "That's why you don't punch a stone wall, Beast Boy."  
  
Robin groaned and slapped his forehead.  
  
"You're telling me we have NO WAY OUT?!" Robin yelled, his frustration taking hold of him. Raven turned to him and said, "Hey, it's not my fault! It's common logic that if you follow one side of a maze, you'll find the exit eventually!"  
  
"There's something wrong with your logic then!"  
  
Starfire whimpered again and threw her arms around Robin.  
  
"Please, stop fighting! It only makes everything worse!" the Tamaran yelled, her eyes beginning to well with tears. Robin's anger dissipated, as it always did when Star acted this way. He couldn't help it; he did love her to death, after all. He hugged her back and said, "You're right, Star."  
  
Raven sighed and thrust her back against the wall.  
  
"We're never going to get out of here, are we?" Beast Boy said softly, and sat down next to her.  
  
Raven lowered herself to his level and rested her head on his shoulder.  
  
"I don't know, Beast Boy."

* * *

A large school of fish swam by peacefully. The ocean floor was beautiful, covered with coral and flourishing sea creatures of all ends of the spectrum.  
  
A very handsome boy swam by, visiting outside of Atlantis for a nice change of pace. His name was Aqualad.  
  
Aqualad sighed at the beauty of the wildlife before him. The schools of fish, the random shark swimming gracefully along, all of it spoke to him with their elegance.  
  
The boy noticed something peculiar nestled in the coral, something that wasn't there before.  
  
"Some tourist probably dropped a pair of binoculars or something," he said to himself. Still, he swam over out of curiosity. Stuck in between a strand of coral and sea anemones was probably the strangest looking creature he had ever seen. It was leathery and redolent of a wolf, save its leathery skin and monstrously large claws and teeth. Aqualad saw no rise of the chest that signaled breathing, and assumed it was dead. However, it had sort of a magnetic presence, and Aqualad found himself swimming closer to have a closer look.  
  
It was definitely dead. Aqualad poked it a couple times, taking notice of the numerous tiny fish nibbling away at its flesh, and seeing no visible movement, he turned his back and began swimming away.  
  
The moment he turned his back, however, he heard an extremely violent rushing of the water, like a hurricane. He turned around and saw the creature being uplifted in a whirlwind of swirling water. He could hear chanting around him, although he couldn't see who or what was saying it. All he could hear was something about kicking the Grim Reaper in his sack.  
  
He watched in horror as the body formed a huge bulge in its abdomen, a bulge that got bigger with each increasing second. It gained size until it burst, showering Aqualad with blood and stray bits of organs. Aqualad disgustedly wiped the remains off himself, and then looked to see what had done it.  
  
In the place of the body he found a new and very alive creature, exactly like the dead one. It roared ferociously, and charged through the water towards Aqualad. The Atlantean did not have the reflexes to move out of the way, and thus got a face full of razor sharp claws. Aqualad yelled in pain, and tried to open his eyes, which had been blinded by the cloud of blood erupting from his face. He blindly swam through the water in the direction he thought was away, but ran into the creature again. It snapped its jaws viciously, but missed. Aqualad used his telekinetic powers to call for help, but the creature had already sprouted wings and flown out of the water.  
  
Aqualad started to become dizzy from the loss of blood. As the creature's sight diminished from his, his vision turned black. He was unconscious before he knew what had happened.

* * *

Fenrir flew up with all his strength until he had breached the surface of the water and was gliding smoothly in the air. The Atlantean was not his concern, so he did not feel the urge to kill him. What his main concern now was revenge. Not only had the Teen Titans bested him twice, but also he had not even managed to kill one of them. All this only served to fuel his vengeful fury to such an extent that the only thing tiding him over was the faint trace of their smell that Fenrir could detect a mile away. The same trail of scent that would lead him to his prey.  
  
H glided up onto a rock outcropping. Strange. It seemed the trail went straight into a wall and continued past there.  
  
'_Fenrir smells enemy. Fenrir follow enemy. Fenrir kill enemy. Enemy not come back this time_,' the brusque canine thought to himself before ramming the rock wall repeatedly. It only took a couple brutal hits to knock a fair- sized hole in the wall. Fenrir retracted his wings and jumped in the hole, once again on the trail of his quarry.  
  
'_Fenrir kill_.'

* * *

Cyborg sighed and hung his head. Here he was, stuck in an elaborate and intricate maze with no way out.  
  
'I miss Carmen,' he thought to himself. Dejectedly he sat down next to Raven and sighed.  
  
"I don't suppose you have any more ideas?" the hybrid softly said to Raven. The Azareth shook her head.  
  
"If I did, don't you think I would have said them by now?" she said bitterly.  
  
Cyborg was about to respond when a loud earthquake similar to the last one shook the ground. Instead of raging for minutes on end, like the last one did, it only lasted a few seconds.  
  
Robin looked at Raven with a confused look on his face, although she knew no more than he did. The masked leader shrugged it off and started thinking of ways to get out.  
  
"Robin..." a voice from far off called out. Robin turned his head around and said, "Who said that?"  
  
"I didn't hear anything," Beast Boy said. The green shape shifter looked at his friend and said, "You okay? I think this place is getting to you."  
  
Robin shook his head. "No, I could have sworn I heard somebody call my name."  
  
Starfire held his hand and gently brushed his hair, trying to calm him. It evidently worked, because Robin closed his eyes, laid his head on her should, and said nothing more.  
  
Cyborg was about to comment on the two devotees, but a strident explosion went off before he could say anything. In front of him, a large chunk of the floor had been blown off, and an outsized cloud of smoke and residue covered the whole corridor. Cyborg coughed furiously, the smoke getting into his lungs and eyes. Raven closed her eyes, and shielded Beast Boy with her cape. Robin and Starfire embraced each other tightly to block the smoke.  
  
When the dust and residue cleared, and when Cyborg's hacking ceased, there stood a figure coated in black cloak that completely covered his entire body. The oversized hood covered his entire head and cast a shadow over his face, making him look very much like the Grim Reaper.  
  
The Titans were all very unfamiliar with this new entity, but they all shared the same sinking feeling in their stomachs that told them this guy wasn't here to help.  
  
The figure cackled loudly, his laugh filled with malice and a gruff edge that added to his already intimidating demeanor. He continued laughing maniacally, as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world.  
  
Raven was the first to speak. "Who are you? And what do you want?" the Azareth said nervously, clenching her fists and preparing for a fight. The figure stopped laughing and replied, "You know me very well, Raven."  
  
Raven was shocked. "How do you know my name?"  
  
"You'd be surprised how much I know about you. About how much I know about all of you," the figure said with a sharp edge to his voice that chilled each Titan down to their very soul. "Or how else would it have been so easy for me to lure you into my trap?"  
  
Raven growled and said, "Answer me! Who are you!?"  
  
The figure laughed again and said, "I really don't think you need to know. These few minutes before your death should not be wasted on petty knowledge."  
  
"But if you must know, I go by the name...Deep Throat."  
  
"You've got quite an attitude, Deep Throat," Cyborg said as he whipped out his sonic cannon. Deep Throat only chuckled and said, "On the contrary. I am merely doing my life's purpose."  
  
Raven growled again and retorted, "Your life's purpose is to kill innocent people?"  
  
Deep Throat chuckled again. His sense of humor must be overactive or something.  
  
"A typical response from someone as blinded as yourself. Naivety is the ultimate blindfold, Miss Raven. Let me ask you something. What is the purpose of your life?"  
  
Beast Boy suddenly had one of those cliché flashbacks to when Lyrim tried to propagate him into believing his lies.  
  
Raven was surprised by his question. She had never thought about it before, as she had never felt the need or the will to. But now...  
  
"I...don't know," she said softly. Deep Throat began pacing about, like he had nothing better to do.  
  
"A life is not worth living unless it has purpose, Miss Raven. What is your purpose? To save people that will only die eventually? To enjoy yourself when you will eventually die a miserable and lonely death? Death is the ultimate liberation, my friend. Life has taught me that. Life is nothing but misguided failures, but death...the freedom of death is nothing but enlightened rule. And I have made it my purpose in life to lift the people's blindfold that keeps them from knowing this," Deep Throat said before taking another deep breath and continuing,  
  
"You should be one to know. After all, you are the daughter of Trigon."  
  
Raven covered her ears and said, "Stop it! You don't know what the hell you're talking about!"  
  
Deep Throat snapped and roared back, "Oh, quite the opposite! You are destined for nothing but pain and destruction unless you learn this lesson life has taught oh so well! Embrace your heritage, instead of shirking it like the ignorant fool that you have become!"  
  
Beast Boy growled and roared back, "That's enough!" In the blink of an eye, he had transformed into a tiger and leapt at the idling figure, claws outstretched and teeth bared. Deep Throat moved nimbly to the side, so gracefully liquidesque that Beast Boy was stumbling in mid-air to catch up.  
  
Robin yelled his battle cry, "Titans, GO!" and threw a handful of miniature explosives at Deep Throat. Starfire's eyes turned green as she launched a storm of starbolts in the direction of their adversary. The combined effort of Robin and Starfire threw up a large cloud of smoke, which seemed to appear to often these days.  
  
The silhouette of Deep Throat was lost in the impending cloud, so Cyborg had to use his infared sensors to find his target. But when he tried to use them, they could not detect any living creature nearby, save him and his comrades.  
  
"Weird...must be busted," Cyborg said to himself. Raven yelled to him, "Look out!"  
  
"Huh?" the hybrid said, before reflexively ducking. A huge ball of dark energy sailed right above him, just missing his head. It struck the wall in front of him, and imploded with a monstrous explosion that surely would have killed him, had it made contact. Cyborg whipped around and saw Deep Throat standing above him, holding another ball of black energy, aiming it at the hybrid. The cloaked figure chuckled before saying, "Goodbye."  
  
Cyborg closed his eyes, bracing himself for the impact, but it never came. Instead, he heard a gruff yell from the place Deep Throat used to be. The hybrid opened his eyes and saw Starfire standing nearby, holding another handful of starbolts. Cyborg grinned and said, "Thanks, Star."  
  
Starfire smiled and said, "You are most welcome, Cyborg," before turning her attention to Deep Throat, who was still recovering from her attack.  
  
The cloaked figure regained his balance and stood straight, not making a movement. The Titans all stood in battle position, waiting for an attack.  
  
But instead of an attack, Deep Throat just chuckled again. He must have a fetish for it or something.  
  
"Well, this is going to be interesting indeed," he said, still not moving a muscle. Right as he finished his words, a loud crash was heard from the ceiling above them. A large hole in the rock above them had appeared, creating yet another vast cloud of grain and rock. A millisecond before the hole had appeared, a large shape fell through it. The shape landed on the floor and roared ferociously. All of a sudden, it clicked.  
  
It was Fenrir.  
  
"Jesus Christ, this thing just won't die, will it!?" Robin yelled with frustration. He began readying himself for an additional opponent, when he noticed that the cloud of smoke had blown Deep Throat's hood off, leaving his face fully and utterly revealed. The masked leader, along with each and very other Titans, gasped in pure shock.  
  
"No, it can't be...you...you're Deep Throat?"

* * *

Yay! Cliffhanger! I'm so evil, aren't I? Okay, so review and tell me what you think! And by the way, I'll bet none of you can guess who Deep Throat is. If anyone does, I'll dedicate the story to you! Although you'll have to share the space with Metallikid...  
  
This is Ozzy Anmudis signing out. 


	15. A Beautiful Oblivion Part 1

**Poor Twisted Me Chapter 15  
**  
Hi! Ozzy again. Okay, I just had a huge burst of inspiration, so I feel like going on a writing spree. Alright, before I answer reviews, to make sure I don't give away Deep Throat's identity away yet, I'll post a list of the people some of you guys guessed and say why they're NOT Deep Throat. So, if you see one of your guesses not on here, chances are, that's him.  
  
Terra- I keep referring to Deep Throat as he, so it can't be her. Gizmo- Gizmo doesn't have supernatural powers. Mammoth- See above. Slade- Umm, Slade's kind of...dead. Goth- I...would think not... Lyrim- Lyrim was poisoned by Deep Throat, not to mention the numerous rendezvous they had together. Carmen- same reason as Terra, not to mention she's kind of...not evil. Fallen Cherub- The only one with supernatural powers is Ben, and he only has "pyrotechnically gifted" abilities.  
  
So far that's all the wrong guesses I've gotten. Time to answer reviews!  
  
Kestrel- I am SO evil, aren't I? Muahaha. Onward I write!  
  
ScarletAngel68- my fav reviewer! What's up? Some of your guesses were pretty off, but I can understand your thinking there. Except for Slade, since he's, you know, dead and all. Don't hate me! As for what happened to Aqualad, I left that to the imagination. As for Izevm, you'll see.  
  
Mrs. Myxztipik- I'm updating, I'm updating and you'll see who Deep Throat is...  
  
Exiled-Knight- you know, you're the only one who realized that Latin was what was written on the wall. Have a cookie! And it translates to:  
  
Reflex in the sky, warn you, you're going to die  
Storm coming, you'd better hide from the atomic tide  
Flashes in the sky turn houses into sties  
Turns people into clay, radiation minds decay  
  
If you're a Black Sabbath fan, you'll notice that it's an excerpt from their song "Electric Funeral". A couple words I had to guess, like 'atomic', 'radiation', and 'sties' because I didn't know what they were. So I can imagine why you would have some trouble with it And I will keep writing!  
  
PrincessCat- Is it? I guess you'll have to find out yourself...and yeah, my grandma says it's going to be really hot down there, so I will take your advice .  
  
KlausBaudelaire25- thanks for the offer, but I already know what happens. I'm privileged with a fast computer that can download stuff very quickly   
  
Darkfire- Sorry, but it's not Terra! And I know what those represent! The green ones represent Beast Boy and the purple ones represent Raven! Oh, I'm good! No! Must...update... I live off your reviews...  
  
Cd lover- Yes, I am very evil!!!! Hahaha!!! I can't think of a nicer way to put this so, all of your guesses were wrong! If you must know why, look up.  
  
Aerinsoul- Maybe...I don't know...muahaha.  
  
Bold Achilles- Ooh, Canada? Awesome! I love your story Stage Fright, by the way. Blame Canada! I haven't been to Canada, so I can't speak of a voice from experience. Yes, it is the butler! It's always been the butler! Rock on! m/  
  
On with the story!

* * *

Robin stared, awestruck with both shock and confusion, into the now unmasked face of Deep Throat. That jet black hair...those deep, penetrating black eyes...it was impossible.  
  
The entity formerly now as Deep Throat was really...Izevm. Their former ally. But how?  
  
Robin snapped out of his shocked state and said, "Izevm? You? How can you be Deep Throat? We saw you get taken by Fenrir!"  
  
Izevm chuckled evilly, his voice much more gruff and frightening than before.  
  
"Yes, confusing, isn't it? Since your pitiful minds could not figure it out alone, allow me to explain.  
  
"It all started a few weeks ago. I came to this world looking to summon an ancient deity named Lyrim, since he was impossible to summon from Azareth. You see, the ancient spell books told me that this creature had unfathomable power if called from his prison in the Underworld. I planned to summon him to do my bidding.  
  
"But it seems Lyrim doesn't answer to any master, not even myself. Upon his summation, he surprised me and knocked me unconscious. While I was out, he called out his little hound friend Fenrir and left to do his own chaotic pleasures.  
  
"When I awoke, he was nowhere in sight. For days I hunted him down, determined to exact my revenge. You see, if I could not control him, I might as well destroy him."  
  
Raven clenched her fists, her rage escalating with each word that escaped his mouth, until her fingernails left marks in her palm.  
  
Izevm cracked his knuckles before continuing, "When I at last found him, he had called that creature Orion, something I had not expected. I realized I could not defeat all three of them combined, so I looked for a method with which to dispose all three of them without getting my hands too dirty."  
  
Robin snarled and said, "That method was us."  
  
"Precisely, Robin. It was perfect. Here I had five more than capable means with which to do my deeds. But it only got better when I created that storm that knocked out the power. Those idiots that Beast Boy plays with did the dirty work of everything I would have had to do myself. Ben made the plans, something that I was more than capable of, Bobbo figured out the code quicker than I needed, and it all worked out my way, like everything should."  
  
"You've got the biggest ego I've ever seen, you pig," Raven said, her words dripping with venom. Izevm ignored her, continuing,  
  
"And to make it even better, once Orion and Lyrim had defeated you fools, that Ben did the rest. The gods favor me; it's so frustratingly obvious, in my humble opinion.  
  
"But Lyrim still lived. I figured that if you didn't have the power to dispose of him, then I would have to do it myself. I disguised myself as Deep Throat, knowing Lyrim would be desperate for help. I was surprised by how easily fooled he was. But I got my alliance with him. All I needed to do was build on that relationship, and when the moment was right, kill him.  
  
"And as the gods would choose, I still had use for the Teen Titans," he professed, spitting out the words 'Teen Titans'.  
  
"I merely appeared to Robin in a dream and scared him. And as I predicted he would, he came to me looking for assistance. I was actually quite surprised how well my plan was working, but then again, the gods do uphold me.  
  
"I arrived at your residence with a full plan already in the works. I merely excused myself to go up to the roof to meditate, knowing you would let me without a shred of suspicion in your minds. Once I was down far enough to where no one could see me, I made a copy of myself using a spell, and sent the copy up to the roof. I then teleported back to Lyrim and told him of my copy's, and presumably mine's, actions. I then suggested we dispose of it. As I predicted, Fenrir was sent to destroy of my copy, which he did successfully. Once the body of my copy was brought to Lyrim and myself, I had to merely propose a toast to our victories. I gave Lyrim a glass of champagne, which, of course, was poisoned. Ironically, it was the poison that Fenrir pumped into my copy to kill it."  
  
Fenrir was listening to the conversation, almost forgetting about his prey. But when that last sentence clicked in, Fenrir was appalled.  
  
_'Person...kill...master? Master...gone?'_  
  
Fenrir's shock was soon replaced with an insurmountable fury. The demonic hound roared in pure fury.  
  
_'Fenrir kill!'_  
  
Izevm laughed, and with a flick of his wrist, Fenrir was out cold. The Azareth turned to the Titans and grinned.  
  
"Let's quiet him down for a while, shall we?"  
  
Beast Boy growled in anger and retorted, "I knew you couldn't be trusted!"  
  
Izevm chuckled and continued, "And you were right, Beast Boy. But did your friends listen to you? No, of course not. After all, it was your word against mine. However, your so-called 'friends' should have listened to you. If they had, they would live to see the light of tomorrow."  
  
Izevm's eyes turned blood red and his voice turned into an utterly demonic tone. He said, with a tone that screamed pure malice, "Now, I believe I have told you too much. You'd be much more use to me dead now."  
  
A jet-black aura surrounded him as he began levitating in the air. As he continued to rise up, a torrent of tremors and earthquake shook the ground beneath the Titans, and miniature bolts of lightning shot out from Izevm, leaving the ground they hit charred black. Robin whipped out his Bo-staff and prepared for an attack as Starfire's eyes turned green once again. Raven took a fighting stance and prepared to attack as Beast Boy and Cyborg readied themselves. Fenrir's unconscious body shook from the earthquakes, but he showed no signs of waking. A blood-red portal appeared next to the evil creature, small as a basketball at first, but slowly getting bigger and bigger, until it was twice as tall as Izevm and four times as wide. Izevm snapped his fingers twice, and Fenrir's loose body bolted to a start. The apocalyptic hound's eyes turned red and he roared loud enough to put a tiger to shame.  
  
Izevm turned his back on the Titans and faced the portal.  
  
"You boys and girls have fun with Fenrir. Oh, and don't try to talk to him; I've got him under my control. He's my puppet now. Now if you'll excuse me, I believe I have a dimension to destroy. I'll see you all in hell one day," Izevm said, walking toward the portal.  
  
Beast Boy had had enough. He growled, transformed into a tiger, and leaped with all his might at Izevm. Raven screamed, "No! Beast Boy!"  
  
Izevm turned around, piqued by Raven's cry for help, and saw Beast Boy's outstretched claws an inch away from him. Reflexively, he held up his arms to block the attack. He managed to avoid getting slashed up, but the force of the attack knocked him back into the portal, taking Beast Boy with him.  
  
Raven yelled and raced over to the diminishing gateway, but it disappeared into nothingness before she could reach it. She screamed, "Beast Boy! NO!"  
  
But it was no use. Wherever the portal lead to was where he was now. And so was Izevm.  
  
Raven growled and, in rage, punched at the ground. Her frustrated vents were interrupted by Robin's tap on her shoulder. She turned to face her masked leader, her eyes red with rage.  
  
"WHAT!?"  
  
Robin recoiled slightly from her furious response, but recovered in time to gesture to Fenrir, who was spying his quarry menacingly.  
  
"We...have a problem."

* * *

(A/N: The moment you've all been waiting for! The fight with Beast Boy and Izevm! Woohoo!)  
  
Outside of the Jump City forest, a new, blood red colored portal opened up. Out of it, two bodies flew out and hit the ground. The gateway disappeared, leaving only a short "Pff!" sound as it departed.  
  
Izevm recovered from the fall and dusted his cloak off. Turning around, he saw Beast Boy standing straight up, perfectly regained. Not to mention he was positively fuming.  
  
Izevm laughed cockily and turned to face Beast Boy. The dark mage smirked and said, "Not one to go down easily are you?"  
  
Beast Boy was breathing heavily, almost to the point of snorting like a bull. His eyes were narrow slits, burning from his inferno of rage that was building up. He clenched his fists and snapped, "Coming on to Raven was bad enough. But trying to kill me an my friends...this is personal now."  
  
Izevm grinned wider and said, "Oh, dear, Beast Boy, even now, in such a righteous fury, you can still manage to come up with another of your beloved one-liners? I think I'll just kill you now."  
  
Beast Boy yelled, "Shut up!" and charged at Izevm in his neutral form. Izevm gracefully dodged the flying punches aimed at him, all the while having a huge smirk plastered on his face, as if he was playing with Beast Boy. The green shape shifter grew angrier with each failing blow, until he could take it no more and transformed into a bull, charging top speed towards the dark mage. Izevm was caught off guard, and took the blow to his chest full force. He was knocked back into a tree, which cracked and nearly toppled from the magnanimous force with which Beast Boy had attacked. Beast Boy snorted and transformed into a tiger, leaping at Izevm before he could recover. The Azareth had neither the time nor the reflexes to dodge the changeling, and thus was hit with the head of Beast Boy's merciless assault. The green metalhead swiped his paw at the evil creature repeatedly, slashing up his target's face and clothes to the point where his cloak was dyed red with blood.  
  
Izevm roared with fury, and a black aura surrounded him. The aura knocked Beast Boy back, making him skid across the ground. Beast Boy recovered quickly about thirty feet away from Izevm and reverted to human form to prepare for a second attack.  
  
Izevm chuckled, coughing up blood mid-laugh. Beast Boy, still panting from his relentless battery, snarled and said, "What's so funny?"  
  
Izevm continued laughing and said, "You are much stronger than I had expected, you naïve fool. I might have to actually try this time."  
  
Beast Boy groaned and replied, "And you're the one who was lecturing _me_ on one-liners a few minutes ago?"  
  
That wiped the smirk of Izevm's face. The Azareth roared as the black aura around him grew in size. It grew and grew until it was twice his size, and then it exploded.  
  
The light from the explosion blinded Beast Boy, preventing him from seeing anything for a good thirty seconds. The blast barely missed him, but trees and shrubbery that were in its vicinity were completely and utterly incinerated. A tremor that could have knocked the Brooklyn Bridge down shook the ground obstinately, knocking Beast Boy off of his feet and onto his back. When Beast Boy's vision returned, he saw nothing but scorched dirt and the charred remains of what used to be plants paving the way between him and Izevm.  
  
The Azareth made a funny sound, sort of like a cross between a snort and gasp. It must have signified shock, because his eyes were wide open and his mouth has slightly agape.  
  
"Whoa...I missed."

* * *

"I swear to God, if I ever get my hands on Izevm I will rip him to shreds!" Raven yelled, rolling to avoid an attack from Fenrir. Cyborg fired off his sonic cannon, making a direct hit on the possessed creature.  
  
"Join the club!" The hybrid yelled with frustration as Fenrir recovered perfectly from his attack. The demonic hound opened his mouth and bared his teeth, his jaws stretching so far apart you could see down his throat. From underneath his tongue, sort of midway between the tongue and his bottom front fangs, a large ball of venom shot out, heading straight for Cyborg. The half robot ducked just in time, leaving the poison to splatter against the wall, burning through it like a hot knife on butter.  
  
The demonic hound roared with nuisance at his missed attack and jumped at Cyborg, who rolled out the way. Starfire threw an inundation of starbolts at the recovering hound, preparing more as they made contact. Fenrir yelped with pain as the starbolts hit their mark, burning his skin. Robin picked up and threw his bird-a-rang at their antagonist, but missing as Fenrir regained himself and jumped back to avoid the masked leader's attack.  
  
"I, as well, must voice my great displeasure for this traitor," Starfire said calmly, suppressing her fury. Raven, fueled by her anger over Beast Boy's departure, said, "Azareth Metrion Zinthos!" Her eyes and hands glowed black, as a huge sphere of dark energy appeared, levitating between her raised hands. Grunting, she thrust the sphere at Fenrir. It did not hit him directly, but the resulting explosion caught him in its burning hot range, scalding him. The demonic hound roared in agony as he writhed under the intense heat, the pain growing with each passing second, until finally the explosion resided.  
  
Fenrir fell to the ground, burnt to the point of being unable to move at all, but not to the point of death. Its mouth had been completely scorched off, save his eyes and bits of his upper jaw. His legs were so badly burnt they didn't even look like legs. Raven looked at the unmoving creature and quietly said, "This time, you won't be resurrected."  
  
And with that, she turned her back.

* * *

Izevm recovered from his temporary state of shock and charged full speed at Beast Boy. The green changeling transformed into a cheetah and sped away, but Izevm formed a makeshift lasso out of dark energy and grabbed onto Beast Boy with it. The Azareth pulled back with a flick of his wrist, sending the now human Beast Boy quite literally into his hands. Izevm grabbed Beast Boy by the throat and hoisted him up in that air, causing him to gasp for breath.  
  
Izevm smirked and said, "You know, there's an old saying that people who have lived life deeply have no fear of death. Tell me Beast Boy, are you afraid right now?"  
  
Beast Boy struggled against Izevm's ironclad grip, but could not break free. Izevm faked a disappointed groan and said,  
  
"Not answering, hmm? You must be too scared for words. There is one thing I am DYING to know, however."  
  
Izevm laughed evilly and whispered into Beast Boy's ear, "Tell me, my good friend, what hurts more? The fact that your meaningless life is about to end alone and at the hands of the person your friends trusted?"  
  
Beast Boy's anger was slowly escalating. He kicked and fought, but Izevm only tightened his grip, turning Beast Boy's face purple.  
  
"Or the fact that once I'm gone, I'll be free to destroy each and every person you hold dear...especially...Raven. Thank whatever pitiful god you worship that you will not be alive to see me kill Raven. Because that would be infinetely worse than whatever Hell can serve up. Which is convienient, because that's where you're heading soon."  
  
That was too much. Beast Boy roared and transformed into a cobra, slipping through Izevm's grip. This caught the Azareth way off guard, allowing Beast Boy to sink his fangs into Izevm's leg. The green shape shifter emptied his venom sacs into his enemy, and then darted away before Izevm could react, slithering quietly in the grass.  
  
Izevm roared with pain as the venom slowly made its way through his bloodstream. With a wave of his hand, Izevm made the poison disappear entirely. Beast Boy reverted to his normal form about a hundred meters away from Izevm, his primal instincts having taken over. He shifted into the form of an eagle rapidly and sprinted through the air towards his opponent. Izevm saw Beast Boy coming, but by then Beast Boy had gained enough speed to grab Izevm by his hair before the dark mage could react. Izevm screamed with pain as Beast Boy snatched Izevm's hair with his razor sharp talons. Izevm lashed out, but could not hit Beast Boy. The green shape shifter flew backwards, dragging Izevm along by his scalp.  
  
Izevm squirmed and yelled in anguish as he was hauled across the floor, marred by both the lug on his head and the rocks and gravel that cut him up as he was dragged along. Just when Izevm had had enough, Beast Boy let go and soared up gracefully. The dark mage gingerly touched his pain-ridden head, wincing from his contact. He turned around in anger only to see a full-sized bear charging at him. His reflexes slowed by pain, he could only block with his arms.  
  
Beast Boy jumped and landed on Izevm with all his weight. Pinning Izevm to the ground with his arms, he snorted hot breath into Izevm's face. The Azareth was about ready to concede.  
  
Izevm held up his hands and said, "Please! I've had enough! Don't kill me! I'll do whatever you ask!"

* * *

Raven blasted away at the rock walls with her powers, fueled by her desire to rip Izevm's head off. Blow after blow she dealt to the walls, each one wearing the stone barrier down. It seemed that Izevm's exodus from the maze had made the walls normal and completely penetrable.  
  
Raven turned to her teammates, who were still a little bugged out by Fenrir's current state, and yelled, "Don't just stand there! Help me blast our way out of here so we can find Izevm and Beast Boy!"  
  
Cyborg grinned and nodded. Whipping out his sonic cannon, he said, "I thought you'd never ask!"  
  
Starfire assisted blasting away at the rocks, although she was silent as she did so. Robin couldn't help the excavation, so he let his thoughts wander as his comrades blasted away.

* * *

Beast Boy changed back to his normal form, though remaining in a position that prevented Izevm from fleeing. Eying the Azareth suspiciously, he said, "You surrender?"  
  
Izevm nodded vigorously and said, "Yes, just don't kill me! I'll do anything!"  
  
Beast Boy got up and leered at his adversary. "You're telling me that you go around killing people to 'liberate them', but when _your_ life is on the line, all of a sudden it's the most important thing in the world?"  
  
Izevm shook his head and said, "I know! Just spare me, please!"  
  
Beast Boy pondered for a minute, and then grinned, an idea popping into his head. He turned to Izevm, a huge smile displayed on his face, and said, "Okay...if you want me to spare you, first you must...get down and grovel."  
  
Izevm complied and knelt down. Beast Boy was beginning to enjoy this.  
  
"Okay, now get down on your knees and repeat after me," Beast Boy said, savoring every minute of this.  
  
"I'm a little piggy."  
  
"What!?"  
  
"Just say it!"  
  
"Gr...fine...I'm a little piggy..."  
  
Beast Boy pushed up on his nose with his finger, making a snout-like appearance, and continued, "Here's my snout."  
  
"Grrrr...here's my snout."  
  
"Oink oink oink, oink oink oink," Beast Boy said, saying the 'oinks' in a singsong voice. Izevm grumbled again and repeated it.  
  
Izevm got up from his knees and asked with an irritated tone, "Is that all?"  
  
Beast Boy scratched his chin and said, "Hmmmm...I guess. Now leave. Leave and never return."   
  
Izevm nodded silently and began walking slowly. Beast Boy turned his back on Izevm and began walking away. A huge mistake.  
  
Izevm cackled evilly and threw a volley of dark energy spheres at Beast Boy's back. The green changeling heard Izevm's laugh, but was hit by the attack before he could even turn around. Beast Boy was knocked forward a good couple yards and landed on his face, unconscious before he hit the ground.  
  
Izevm laughed to himself and said, "What a fool."

* * *

After about fifteen minutes of blasting and excavating, Raven finally saw some light shining through a hole in the wall. Freedom!  
  
"I think we've got it!" she yelled happily. She knew it was not like her to act overjoyed like this, but she didn't care. Focusing her energy for one last blast, she made a decent sized ball of dark energy and hurled it at the crack. And as fate would have it, it crumbled away, leaving a hole big enough for everyone to escape through. Raven was about to jump out when she saw Izevm standing on the ground next to Beast Boy, who looked unconscious.  
  
Raven could only watch in horror as a jet-black aura streaked with blood red striped surrounded Izevm. He slowly rose up in the air, laughing maniacally as he did so. Another huge upheaval rattled the ground, and dark clouds in the skies appeared and began to pour water like the world was going to be flooded again. The furious rain was interspersed with raging bolts of lightning that struck the ground relentlessly and torrents of thunder that was louder than an AC/DC concert. The aura around Izevm grew larger as he continued rising up into the air. With each passing minute, the surges of rain amplified, the thunder increased its already substantial stridence, and the bolts of lightning hastened. Izevm continued rising until he was a good two hundred meters above the ground. He began muttering under his breath, quiet at first, but getting louder with each word until he overshadowed the din of the thunder. His hands glowed a blood red aura as he chanted, and his eyes turned a deep, saturated shade of burgundy. Upon finishing his chanting, he laughed maniacally as the aura from his hands shot out like a beam of light. It increased in area until it was one huge blanket of blood red light that covered all of Jump City. With one final cackle, he thrust his hands down, the blanket of light following suite.  
  
"NO!!" Raven screamed, but it was too late. As the veil of light made contact with the city, it shone a bright white light. Raven could see the citizens running with panic to avoid the light from her spot, but the white light blinded grew in size and blinded her. She shielded her eyes with her hands, trying to block it out. As the light overcame her, she thought she could hear the sound of Starfire screaming.

* * *

"Owww...my head..." Raven moaned. She got up from her abode on the ground and took a minute to study her surroundings. She had been lying on the ground, probably unconscious. So had everyone else, she noticed, as she saw Starfire, Robin, Cyborg, and Beast Boy all out cold, all within a few yards of each other.  
  
When Raven looked around, she was surprised. Actually, she was closer to astonished, blow away out of her mind, overwhelmingly incredulous, and downright stupefied. She rushed over to her teammates and woke each one up hurriedly.  
  
"Beast Boy! Cyborg! Starfire! Robin! Wake up!" she said, each one of them awaking on cue.  
  
"Dude...what the hell happened?" Beast Boy said, startled by Raven's look of genuine fear. The Azareth pointed to their surroundings and said, "Look!"  
  
Cyborg followed her gesture and said, "What are we looking for...Jesus Christ monkey balls!"  
  
What had once been her peaceful hometown had been transformed into what can be best described as a sadistic murder's fantasy gone awry. In place of the normally blue sky, it was now an ominously creepy shade of red interlaced with black. There was not a cloud to be found.  
  
In place of their normal sun, a sun blacker than the night was there. It spat out bolts of fire and flares that could be seen from Earth. Or...what had been Earth.  
  
Where Jump City had once existed was replaced by what looked like ruins of a city a million years old. The buildings were rusted and worn down, with pipes sticking out, spraying water that was a disgusting cross between brown and blue. Cobwebs the size of an SUV coated the entire city, and spiders the size of a newborn baby crawled all over them.  
  
There was not a human in sight. The utter silence that hung in the air was terrifying and disturbed them all.  
  
Starfire ran over to Robin and buried her head into his shoulder. "Robin, what is this? What happened to our home?" she cried, her eyes welling with tears. Robin shook his head.  
  
"I wish I knew, Starfire. I wish I knew."

* * *

Woohoo! What's gonna happen next? Just wait for the next chapter to find out! Okay, just so everyone knows, the next couple of chapters are going to be more horror-oriented. Dunno why. I just sorta felt like it.  
  
Okay, and the people who knew that Deep Throat was Izevm were:  
  
**PrincessCat**  
  
Congratulations! And she gets it because she KNEW Deep Throat was Izevm, not because she was guessing. Okay, so read and tell me what you think! 


	16. A Beautiful Oblivion Part 2

**Poor Twisted Me Chapter 16**  
  
Ozzy again! Sorry it took so long, but when I went on vacation to Texas, I brought a floppy disk with my writing with me so I could update from there. I get there, and you know what I find? Two computers, only one has room for a floppy disk. The other? Didn't have Microsoft Word, which is what I write my stories on. Safe to say, I was fairly peeved. I did manage to write a poem and start a new Danny Phantom fic, though, by using Wordpad. That was hard enough   
  
By the way, this chapter is dedicated to ScarletAngel68, 'cause she helped me revise this chapter! Thanks a bunch!  
  
Okay, I think I'll answer reviews now.  
  
Kestrel- Yes, I did make BB an idiot like that on purpose. See, on one hand, I could have Izevm surrender or get killed, then start a whole new plot arc, or have Izevm win and lengthen this one out a lot more. In the end, I chose the latter, since my real goal is to get this story past 100,000 words, and a longer anything is usually my choice. Matter of fact, I'm thinking about revising chapter four to make the hunt for Raven's emotions more detailed. I still haven't decided on that, though. Wow, did I get off-topic. I tend to do that   
  
Exiled-Knight- Truth be told, I looked that Latin excerpt up online. I can only speak Spanish, but I wanted something that would make the whole scene more ominous, yet sound awesomely awesome at the same time. So I settled for Latin Muahaha! I get a plate of cookies!  
  
PrincessCat- Hey, more cookies! Thanks for warning me, but I went just north of the Mexican border, so there wasn't a lot of rain.  
  
ScarletAngel68- Yes, I am mean! Muahaha. Have I told you I loved you today? In a non-stalking type of way? Actually, as for Izevm not destroying the Titans, I kind of forgot about that bit. My bad I'll have to remember to fix that. Anyways, about Beast Boy's lack of good judgment, same thing that I said to Kestrel. Hell, I just don't want to write the explanation all over again The climax is coming soon! Heh, climax. I'm actually going to split this story into three semi-related parts, or acts. The second one is probably going to focus more on romance and humor, not to mention a lot more appearances by Fallen Cherub. You get to see more of Ben The third one is going to be about a certain villain's return from hell...not going to say whom! That's how evil I am.  
  
Moezy-chan- Hey, I'm writing, kill the motor, Motörhead. Which is a totally kick-ass band, by the way.  
  
StArRy1233- Hi! Glad you like my story and my ridiculously big words!  
  
Mrs. Myxztipik- No, this is not in the future, but Izevm took over Jump City. As for his motives, you'll see   
  
LivingImpaired- Ah, so that's how you can be living impaired. I understand now   
  
Krystal Lily Black- Trust me, there will be a lot more twists to come. I'm a twisty writer. Oo that didn't come out right.  
  
Snea- Yay! Have fun at Ocean City! By the way, Cyborg's "monkey balls" phrase I got from this cop in South Park who always says that.  
  
Cd lover- Oo Chill, okay? I'm updating.  
  
The new person- Sorry, I don't intend on having Speedy making any appearances.  
  
On with the story!

* * *

The Titans stood confused under the burning red and black sky, desperately trying to make heads or tails of what the hell happened. With not much success, regrettably.  
  
Beast Boy stared off into the abyss of their former city, with an expression that rang of both weighty trepidation and bafflement. He could hear Robin and Raven arguing, but he lost himself in the alien surroundings. Soon the arguments diminished into mere irritations, then faded to black entirely as he let the harsh words wash over him noncommittally.  
  
Raven was at the end of her wits, probably from a terrible provocation that took a great toll on her nerves. Thus, she found her retorts becoming more and more irate with each passing moment.  
  
Starfire was still burying her head in Robin's shoulder, seeking camaraderie. That, or trying to keep from looking at those grossly large spider webs that somehow reminded her of Fang, which in turn reminded her of Kitten. As we all know, Kitten equals bad.  
  
Robin, sharing Raven's lack of serenity, vented his stockpiling indignation by arguing with the Azareth. He knew that wasn't smart, but hell, he didn't care. Waking up and finding your home destroyed allowed some room for anger.  
  
Cyborg was the only one who still had the sagacity to look for either someone alive or someplace where Izevm might be. So far he was having no luck, his entire vision polluted with gargantuan cobwebs.  
  
They had tried to look for Titans Tower, but instead found an empty carcass of concrete and steel. And to confirm Cyborg's worst fears, Carmen was not there. Izevm had not spared her.  
  
After a couple minutes of furious brainstorming, Cyborg had thought up of a provoking question that still stumped them all- "Why did Izevm destroy every thing EXCEPT us?"  
  
They came up with several theories, none of which fit. There was the possibility that Izevm still needed them, but then that left query to why he had left Fenrir to kill them. Then there was the chance that he had thrown them into the future, but that didn't explain the red and black sky. So the question was still unanswered.  
  
Cyborg grew frustrated with his continuous failures to find anything, and stormed off towards a big hill off towards the side. The conflicting Robin and Raven didn't notice this, but Starfire did. She let go of Robin and ran over to Cyborg.  
  
"Cyborg, what is the matter?" the Tamaran asked with her institutional naïveté. Cyborg grew frustrated and yelled back, "What does it look like?! My home has been destroyed, my girlfriend has been killed, and I don't know how to get the fucker who did it!"  
  
Starfire shrunk back, not willing to test him. Instead, she sat down, her eyes slowly welling with tears. Cyborg ignored her and stormed off.  
  
Upon reaching the peak of the hill, however, he saw a spectacle that made him scream with relief.  
  
"Guys! BB! Raven! Starfire! Robin! Come here!" The hybrid yelled. Beast Boy snapped out of his possessive reverie to run over to his comrade, while Robin and Raven stopped their fighting to head over to the hill. Starfire as well, picked herself up and went to see what the tumult was about.  
  
As she reached the summit of the prominence, she indeed saw what Cyborg meant. From their previous standpoint, it was impossible to see it, but from her view atop the hill it stuck out like a sore thumb.  
  
About a quarter-mile away from their position sat a large building that was a good hundred feet tall. Its appearance very similar to a cathedral, except it was entirely jet-black except for the doors, windows, and scattered spires. There was one large door that seemed about ten or fifteen feet high, and upon its center was a brilliant golden emblem of a very intricate, and very creepy, symbol. Almost like a satanic version of St. Edwards Cathedral, it had analogous decorative windows adorning the front of it. But instead of depicting angels or Jesus, it showed fiendish creatures and eerie demons sporting gruesome war paraphernalia like severed heads on a pike.  
  
Cyborg turned to his comrades and said, "Never seen that before. Anyone else think that bastard Izevm's hiding in there?"  
  
Everyone agreed unanimously. Robin began walking forward and said, "Let's go."  
  
After about thirty seconds of walking, to their great surprise, they found a grungy old man sitting with his hat down, like he was asleep. He wore tattered, grimy clothes that spoke of homelessness.  
  
Robin instinctively ran over to the man and yelled, "Excuse me! Sir!"  
  
The old man looked up and began laughing.  
  
"You ugly," the old man said with a heavily accented voice. He went on cackling insanely, like it was the funniest thing in the world. Robin rolled his eyes and said, "Sir?"  
  
"No, man. Sheeeeit, you ugly."  
  
Robin groaned and scratched his head impatiently. He was about to give up and leave this old man. The masked leader turned his back and began walking.  
  
"You almost as ugly as those otha folks that comed by here."  
  
Robin whipped around and faced the man. "What other folks?!"  
  
The old man laughed again and said, "Those reeeel ugly folks. They reeeeel reeeeel ugly. You ugly, but they ugly ugly."  
  
"Gee, thanks," Robin said dryly.  
  
"Danny be telling ye more, but Danny need somethin' in reeeturn." With that, he made a motion with his fingers that evidently signified money. Robin sighed, but decided he could use this guy. He dug his hand into his pocket and pulled out a five-dollar bill, placing it onto the old man's hand. The senior made a strange noise, sort of like a cross between an "Hmph!" and an "Ack!"  
  
"Five dollahs be all? Sheeeit, you be cheap."  
  
Robin grabbed the man by his collar and lifted him up in a very threatening way. The old man kicked his legs, then started cracking up again.  
  
"Okay, Danny be helpin'. They was his reeeely ugly guy. I mean ugly ugly."  
  
"Yes, I think we've established that," Robin said irritably. The old man cackled again and said, "He be talkin' to hisself all crazy-like about some master and how him's gonna be pleased w' he." He laughed yet again and made a swirling motion around his ear. "They be crazy, I tell ye."  
  
Robin raised an eyebrow and let the man go. Robin began walking off, when he heard the old man shout out to him.  
  
"Hey, masky boy, one otha thing!"  
  
Robin turned around and said, "What?"  
  
"They ugly."

* * *

Izevm anxiously waited, standing in front of a large, sinister looking mirror that was a good couple feet taller than him and twice as wide. The Azareth looked out of the window of the highest room of the building, where he was located, hoping to kill time while he waited for his tryst.  
  
Almost on cue, he heard a loud whooshing sound come from the mirror. He turned his head and saw the mirror become enshrouded in a swirling red cloud, rotating around like windmill. The cloud tightened and shrunk, and eventually transformed into a shadowed head eclipsed by the dark. Izevm turned and faced the mirror to salute the face that stood before him.  
  
"Greetings, master. All is going as planned. I await your next command," Izevm said with a tone redolent of a boot camp enrollee. The face chuckled with a monstrously deep and raspy voice, all the time staying enshrouded in the darkness, concealing his identity from even the narrator of this story.  
  
"Excellent. Rest easy for now. Soon I will be able to assume a form of this dimension. When that happens, I will give you your next orders. Until then, any and all disturbances are to be taken care of quickly and painfully. That is all," the anonymous head said before dissipating into a cloud of scarlet smoke again, and then receding entirely.  
  
Izevm walked over to a lavish chair that garlanded the center rear of the room and sat down, preparing to relax. He looked over to his left and idly touched an orb resting on a pedestal and grinned maliciously.  
  
All of a sudden, he was struck with a searing pain that coursed through his head. He yelled out in pain, but as soon as it came, it left. Izevm regained his composure and grinned evilly.  
  
"I see I have some things to tie up."

* * *

"Okay, this place is seriously creeping me out," Cyborg said as he thrust the doors of the cathedral open. He wasn't alone in his thinking; the others wholeheartedly agreed.  
  
The doors made way for a very long hallway, which curved off to the right. What was really eerie were the large, wooden, life-sized puppets that hung from the ceiling like a man at the gallows. The heads were crude, as they were merely X's for eyes and a frowning mouth. Like something from a horror movie, most of them held knives or other weapons in their wood hands. But the worst part? The weapons were tipped red with dried blood.  
  
Oh, yeah. Very scary.  
  
Starfire let out a "Yipe!" and ran over to Robin, clinging to his arm tightly, looking for comfort.  
  
"Robin, I do not like this place at all. It gives me the bumps of goose," Starfire said, not one to suppress her opinions. Robin held her closer and gave her a peck on the top of her head.  
  
"It's okay, Star. I won't let anyone hurt you."  
  
Beast Boy thought about the song "Master of Puppets" by his favorite band and considered cracking a joke, but a soft rustling behind him diverted his attention. He snapped his head around, but saw nothing. He vigilantly turned back around, but as soon as he did, he heard it again. Again, he whipped around neurotically, but there was nothing but those ominous marionettes.  
  
Cyborg noticed his paranoia, and nudged him to get his attention. "Beast Boy, calm yourself. Nothing to be scared of. There's nothing in here but those creepy puppets...with weapons...that have blood on them...on second thought, never mind," the hybrid said, his attempts to cheer failing.  
  
Beast Boy flashed a thumbs-up and sarcastically said, "Gee, thanks."  
  
"Ah, it seems my dear Teen Titans have survived! Too bad," a loud and rasping voice yelled out from above them. The team all turned their heads up to see none other than Izevm hovering indolently above them. Raven growled, her top lip curling upward in a sign of consummate hatred. All the others were, safe to say, not exactly happy.  
  
"You! You fucking bastard! What have you done!?" Cyborg yelled with fury. Izevm only laughed softly before replying.  
  
"What have I done? I have done no wrong. I have merely followed the path I was fated to. You should too. If you did, at least you would be able to see you pitiful girlfriend in hell," Izevm spat out, his words ringing with derision and contempt.  
  
"Which reminds me," he said before pulling his face inches from Cyborg's and continuing in a whisper that only Cyborg could hear, "I had a grand old time killing her. She was resilient and would not go down as quick as the others. You have good taste. Oh, excuse me; you _had_ good taste."  
  
That was too far. Cyborg roared with unrivaled wrath and shot out his arm to grab Izevm's throat. But when his arm moved, he found himself strangling air. He looked up and saw Izevm wearing that same pompous leer, which only fueled the fire more.  
  
Cyborg whipped out his sonic cannon and aimed it at Izevm, saying, "I swear to God, I'm going to wipe that FUCKING SMIRK OFF YOUR FACE!"  
  
The enraged hybrid fired off dozens of shots, but each missed as Izevm dodged them as nimbly as a cat. When Cyborg's incensed attack ended, he saw the Azareth still hovering, this time right next to one of those disturbing marionettes. Izevm laughed malevolently at the grief-stricken hybrid.  
  
"Testy, aren't we?" he said while he raised his hands over his head.  
  
"I'd love to stay and chat, but I have some unfinished business to take care of."  
  
"Azareth Izevm Destino!" he yelled, his eyes turning jet-black as a blood- red aura surrounded him. He thrust his right hand into the back of a puppet, which instantly glowed the same blood-red color. Its head snapped up and shifted from side to side, like it was searching for something.  
  
Izevm grinned maliciously and spread is arms out wide, awaking each one of the puppets that lie before him. Each one that awoke slowly cut itself from the strings that bound it to the ceiling and turned their attention to the frightened team that stood before them. There was a hell of a lot more of them than they thought.  
  
The evil Azareth cackled maniacally. With a flick of his wrist, he was gone. No sooner had he left, the army of marionettes began slowly advancing on the Teen Titans, moving jerkily and with inelegance.  
  
Cyborg felt his fear slowly escalating into rage. Aiming his sonic cannon at the approaching militia, he fired off a round of his weapon before retreating back to his fellow Titans.  
  
Robin whipped out his Bo-staff and assumed a fighting position, his fear slowly ebbing away as the adrenaline began coursing through his veins. Starfire was still inexorably frightened, but her eyes still began to shine a brilliant emerald shade in preparation for a fight.  
  
A black light began to engulf Raven's hands, readying any needed attack. Beast Boy, however, began trembling and ran over to behind Raven, hiding under her cloak.  
  
"Beast Boy!" Raven yelled. The changeling chuckled nervously and ran out from under her cape. Raven rolled her eyes and said, "Beast Boy, I love you, but you can really be an idiot sometimes. "  
  
Beast Boy grinned weakly, then gulped at the sight of the approaching army. Fortunately, he found his fear receding and becoming replaced by primal instincts. Intuitively, he transformed into a gorilla and roared. With that, he charged at the nearest puppet, drew back his fist, and struck the dummy with all his might. The marionette stumbled back into another one behind him, knocking the two of them into the wall. Another puppet standing next to the one Beast Boy bounded forward and ripped a large gash in the shape shifter's chest with its knife.  
  
Robin yelled out, "Titans, GO!" and leapt on top of the attacking marionette, then leapt off, twirling his staff in mid air. Swinging his staff, he struck a row of puppets horizontally, knocking them all off balance, all the while being airborne.  
  
Beast Boy recovered from his cut and shifted into a t-rex, roaring ferociously. The army was not impeded by this, and continued to advance jerkily.  
  
Starfire flew forward and began blasting away at the front lines like there was no tomorrow. Given the wrong events, there very well might not be. Raven flew up next to her and assisted her by throwing round after round of black energy spheres. All of a sudden, Starfire saw a disembodied knife coming flying towards her. Reflexively, she dove down to dodge it, and successfully did so. But to her great surprise, the knife came spinning back around like a boomerang. She ducked down farther, but the knife still managed to scrape a deep cut in her left arm. Unfortunately, in dodging the knife, she had ducked too low. Another dummy on the front lines whipped a sword out of a sheath and took a swing at the Tamaran, tearing a huge gash in her left leg. Starfire yelled out in pain, clutching her leg in agony.  
  
Robin saw Starfire's predicament just as the attacking marionette readied itself for another swing. Starfire had begun losing consciousness from loss of blood, and was starting to lose altitude. The masked leader yelled, "Starfire!" With that, he dove forward and tackled the sword-wielding dummy, knocking it into the wall. He drew back his fist and struck the puppet as hard as he could. To his surprise, the head of the dummy popped off and began rolling away. Robin leapt again and grabbed the falling Starfire out of midair just before she fell down into a mob of dummies. Rolling forward, he hopped behind the safety of the other three Titans and laid Starfire down to examine her wounds.  
  
Starfire slowly shifted to look into Robin's face and say, "Robin? Are you alright?"  
  
Robin nodded affectionately and said, "Yes, I'm fine Star. I'm more concerned about you."  
  
Her gashes were pretty deep, and bleeding a whole bunch. Robin tore off a section of his cape and wrapped it around her leg, tying it tightly to impede the blood loss. He squeezed Starfire's hand and said, "Starfire, if anything happens to you or me, I just want you to know that...I love you."  
  
Starfire smiled weakly and said, "I love you too, Robin."  
  
They were interrupted, however, by Cyborg.  
  
"Guys, there's too many of them! Fall back!" the hybrid said with a tone of urgency in his voice as he began to back up, firing off shots of his sonic cannon every few seconds. Robin helped Starfire up off the ground and began running with Cyborg.  
  
Starfire flew back up into the air and began retreating alongside the rest of her comrades. However, the puppets continued to follow, albeit at an agonizingly slow rate. The corridor began curving to the right, like a spiral staircase. Gradually, it began stretching upward with an incline hardly noticeable.  
  
Raven continued to fly along, until she was struck with an idea. Halting in her tracks mid-air, she muttered "Azareth Metrion Zinthos!" Her eyes glowed black, and she raised her hands upward. An area of ceiling about ten yards in front of her also glowed black. She thrust her hands down, bringing the area of ceiling down in synch with her hand movements. The ceiling crumbled and fell down, creating a wall of rocks, blocking the puppets from reaching them. She sighed and drifted back down.  
  
Beast Boy grinned and said, "Nice job Raven!" He began to walk towards her, but she held up a hand, panting.  
  
"I don't think we should be celebrating yet, Beast Boy. If I know Izevm, he'll probably have fifty more traps waiting in the wings," she said. Beast Boy made a face and looked at the corridor that lay before them.

* * *

Izevm walked torpidly into his room, walking in front of his large mirror.  
  
"Master?" he said curtly. The mirror glowed a deep shade of black as a new cloud of smoke appeared, this one a light green-blueish. The face of his master appeared, this time not covered in shadows.  
  
"What is it?" the disembodied head said with a tone of irritation in his voice. Izevm gulped and said, "So sorry to interrupt, master, but it seems the Titans are alive and well. I sent the puppets after them, but I doubt they'll do any more than slow them down."  
  
The face looked upward and let out an "Hmmmm" sound.  
  
Izevm swallowed again and said, "Sir?"  
  
"Quiet fool, I'm thinking."  
  
Izevm recoiled and said, "Yes, sir."  
  
After what seemed like an eternity, Izevm's master said, "I think I've got it. Wait until they reach the first door then sic the spiders on them. I doubt they'll handle that. But if for some remote chance that they do, contact me. We'll destroy them some way or another. All it requires is patience."  
  
Izevm grinned and said, "Of course, my master. I should have thought of it myself."  
  
"Izevm?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Don't kiss ass, okay?"  
  
"Yes sir."

* * *

"NO! Swiss cheese is vastly superior to cheddar cheese! How can you even  
  
consider the mere possibility that it isn't??"  
  
"Because, you feeble-minded cretin, it's the plain and unalterable truth,  
  
and you're just too ignorant and bull-headed to see it!"  
  
"There is no way in the world- which, by the way looks like it's finally  
  
ending-"  
  
"A shame, that...."  
  
"Yeah. Anyway, there's no way in the world cheddar is better than Swiss!!"  
  
"Nuh-uh..."  
  
(A/N: Thanks a bunch Lisa!)  
  
Beast Boy and Cyborg, of course, were having another one of their completely pointless yet hilarious arguments, just to pass the time and to keep their minds off of the possible dangers that lay ahead. As they continued traversing the lengthy corridor, it became increasingly obvious that they might be here for a while.  
  
It took nearly twenty minutes of walking before Beast Boy stumbled on something. He regained his balance, and then looked to see what it was that caught his foot. To his surprise, he found a trapdoor. Grinning, he called out to his friends, "Hey guys! Look at this!"  
  
"Beast Boy, what is it?" Robin said as he ran over to his friend. Spying the trapdoor, he raised an eyebrow curiously.  
  
"Hmm...interesting," the masked leader said. Beast Boy grinned wider and said, "Well, let's go!"  
  
Raven put a restricting hand on his shoulder and said, "Wait, Beast Boy. We don't know where it'll lead. For all we know, we could be walking straight into a trap."  
  
Beast Boy's grin disappeared. He opened his mouth to argue, but decided against it. He shrugged it off and began walking again.  
  
It only took a couple of minutes for the winding hallway to come to an abrupt end. It seemed to lead to a huge room, probably about fifty feet tall, and just as wide, with a row of sculptures placed in a column that seemed to lead into a large pedestal resting at the rear end of the room. From a distance, they couldn't tell what rested on the pedestal, but there was definitely something there. To their discontent, they could see piles of skeletons littering the room randomly. Starfire began walking nervously around before stumbling over, to her extreme dismay, a human skull.  
  
"Eep!" she screamed, jumping into Robin's arms and throwing her arms around his neck. Robin looked at her funny, and then realized what she was afraid of.  
  
"Robin? I have a bad feeling about this place. We should leave," Starfire said nervously.  
  
"Star, we have to find Izevm. It's the only way to get things back to normal. Besides, it's just a skull." Robin replied coolly as he continued walking down the row of statues towards the pedestal. The team shrugged let Starfire down and began following him cautiously. As they walked, they got this weird feeling that someone was watching them. The tension mounted until Beast Boy could take it no longer, and whipped his head around to look behind him.  
  
"Who's there?!" he yelled, scanning his surroundings like a hawk. He saw nothing.  
  
"Beast Boy, will you calm down? There's nothing to be afraid of!" Raven said with a hint of annoyance in her voice. Beast scoffed and said, "Yeah, that's exactly what Cyborg said right before we met the Puppet Army of Doom back there."  
  
He had a point, but Raven still elected to ignore him and continue to follow Robin.  
  
Robin finally arrived in front of the pedestal to see that upon it lay a very intricate key. He was about to reach out and grab it, when he suddenly heard childish giggling behind him. He turned around, but only saw his teammates.  
  
"Okay, who's making that noise?" he said testily.  
  
"What noise?" Cyborg said nonchalantly. Robin groaned and said, "That annoying laughing noise."  
  
"We weren't making any noise," Beast Boy said. Robin raised an eyebrow suspiciously before walking up to the stand and grabbing the key.  
  
"This could be useful," he said, shoving it into his pocket. He turned around, but to his surprise, found his comrades' faces fixated on something above him.  
  
"What is it?" he said, looking upward and around to see what it was.  
  
"Holy fuck on a Mack truck!" he said when he spied what it was.  
  
Perching on the wall in back wall behind the pedestal was a huge spider, its eyes each about the size of a basketball. Its abdomen was about the size of a Greyhound bus, and its legs were about as thick as a tree, and probably just as long. It had huge fangs that were as long and thick as two baseball bats, each dripping with venom that burned a hole in the floor when it made contact. Instead of the conventional brownish color for spiders, it was a bright red and yellow all over, with black and brown spots scattered throughout, almost like its exoskeleton was made out of lava. It growled a low, thundering growl that shook the cathedral like an earthquake, making chunks of the ceiling fall down and crumble onto the floor. It leapt down from its perch on the wall and roared again at the Titans, spewing venom as it bellowed. The Titans all leapt out of the way, each one avoiding the venom aimed at them. Where the venom had been aimed, large, sizzling apertures appeared in the ground.  
  
Robin whipped out a bird-a-rang and tossed it at the spider. The bird-a- rang sailed towards the spider, but only shattered as it made contact with the spider's adamant shell. Growling with frustration, he took out his Bo- staff and jumped towards the spider. He glided through the air until he landed just behind the spider's head. Twirling his staff expertly, he struck the armor of the spider, but to no avail. Upon making contact with the arachnid, his staff cracked in two, the broken half flying through the air.  
  
The spider roared and jumped through the air with astonishing speed and altitude. Landing across the room onto a wall, Robin found himself hanging on for dear life as he dangled precariously from the spider's back. The spider noticed that he hadn't fallen off, and spit a huge wad of venom up at the ceiling. The venom crashed into the roof, making a bunch of rocks fall down. Robin had a choice: either jump down and avoid getting hit and get killed from the jump, or get hit by the rocks, fall down, and get crushed to death under the rocks.  
  
'Choices, choices,' Robin thought to himself.  
  
In the split seconds before the rocks hit him, he decided to take his chances and jump down. Starfire saw his plummet from yards away, and raced over to catch him before he made contact with the ground.  
  
"Robin!" she yelled as she sprinted through the air as fast as she could. Catching him the moment before he hit the ground, she sighed with relief as she flew through the air with him in her arms.  
  
Meanwhile, the other Titans had their hands full. While Robin had been fighting the huge-ass spider, a gigantic army of them began emerging, crawling out from the cracks in the floors until they numbered in the millions. Each one was as big as a gorilla's fist and moved with the speed of a panther.  
  
Cyborg and Raven blasted away at them, but they were just too numerous. With every row that was destroyed, two more advanced further.  
  
"Jesus Christ, where are they all coming from?!" Beast Boy yelled before transforming into a t-rex. Swinging his tail, he managed to effectively crush a few hundred spiders. But no sooner had he done that, a news wave of arachnids advanced, crawling on top of the bodies of the crushed spiders to get on top of Beast Boy. One by one the crawled up his tail until his entire lower body was literally covered in them. Beast Boy shook his tail wildly, making the ridiculously over-sized bugs fly off. The few that held on, however, sank their fangs into the thick skin of the t-rex. Beast Boy roared in pain, the venom slowly making their way towards his nervous system. Fortunately, he had the hindsight to shape shift into an eagle, his smaller form causing the spiders to fall off his less expansive hide.  
  
"Beast Boy! A little help over here!" Cyborg screamed. The changeling looked over and saw that he was inches away from being smothered by the oncoming spiders. Raven had gone over to assist Robin and Starfire fight the mother spider, leaving Cyborg to fend for himself. The hybrid continued to blast away, but the spiders' numbers were still too many. Beast Boy shape shifted into a pterodactyl and glided over to his friend, picking him up with his talons, flying him away safely.  
  
While Beast Boy and Cyborg were fighting the vast onslaught of spiders, Robin, Raven, and Starfire had their hands full staying alive.  
  
"Azareth Metrion Zinthos!" Raven yelled, using her powers to hurl a large boulder at the spider. The stone merely crumbled against its obstinate armor, deteriorating into pebbles and falling harmlessly to the floor. The spider roared at Raven, and then leapt at her from its post on the wall. Raven gasped and instinctively flew up as high as she could in that short span of time, effectively dodging her enemy.  
  
Robin, still in Starfire's arms, got out his freeze disks and hurled a handful of them at the still airborne spider. A few missed and sailed on, but a couple hit their mark. But to his surprise, the disks had no effect. They merely disintegrated against its abdomen, like every other attempt to hurt it. The gigantic spider merely turned its head to look at the pair as it landed on the ground, and then roared ferociously. It then opened its mouth wide, sending a giant fireball out of its mouth and towards them.

* * *

Haha! Another cliffhanger! Okay, so review and tell me what you think! Oh, by the way, I'm going to wrestling camp on Sunday, so if there's not another chapter out by then, there won't be until at least Wednesday, which is when I leave   
  
This is Ozzy signing out. 


	17. A Beautiful Oblivion Part 3

Poor Twisted Me Chapter 17  
  
Hi! Ozzy again! Seems everyone hates the spiders...Okay, nothing that I can think of that needs to be announced, so I guess I'll answer reviews!  
  
Kestrel- I picked spiders because the next few chapters are going to be more horror based, and the goal of horror is to strike fear into the hearts of readers. What better way to strike fear than with spiders?   
  
Krystal Lily Black- Yes, I do love scaring the crap out of people! 'Tis fun! I don't like spiders either, but I love them in story form! They're so creepy and awesome!  
  
Exiled-Knight- Sí! Hablo español! Thanks! I'm flattered!  
  
Mrs. Myxztipik- Are you entirely sure Carmen's gone for good? Heehee...  
  
PrincessCat- Wow, we're energetic, aren't we? Anyways...wait a minute...DAMMIT! I thought I was being real original with that cathedral! Wahhh...  
  
Moezy-chan- You'll see what'll happen!!! Muahaha.  
  
Dream maven- Well, you'd be surprised. Given the right scenario, anyone will swear like that. But, that's just my opinion   
  
Snea- yes, there has been a lot of fights. And there will be a bunch more! Muahaha!  
  
ScarletAngel68- Hi! What's up? Dude, those words of comfort are hilarious! I am definitely going to use those! That is, if you don't mind. Okay, I got an alternate word for cool: hella awesome. Something with the word 'hella' in it. I love that word. Muahaha. As for the second act, I don't want to give too much away, but I'm planning a really funny scene at a bar. I've already got it all planned out...muahaha. Holy crap, I say that a lot. No, it's not Slade! I don't like Slade, 'cause he's all normal-like and boring. Thanks for taking note of that! Yes, this is still the first act! Okay, 39,709 words...think I can pull that off in one chapter?  
  
Soraoathkeeper- hi! Okay, I'll keep that random thought in mind. Teehee. Anyways, yes, I was trying to hint the connection between Izevm and Deep Throat with that scene. Unfortunately, you were the only one who caught that. As for the pairings, I find them both equally interesting, but it's just easier to write BBRae for me.  
  
On with the story! Oh, and this whole chapter will sound a lot better if you listen to 'Doomsayer' by Hatebreed while your reading. Also, apoligies in advance for the chapter being so short.

* * *

"Holy crap!" Robin said as the giant fireball came flying towards them. Starfire, with her quick reflexes, swiftly flew out of harm's way, although she could feel the heat of the fireball on her cheek as it sailed by, harmlessly dissipating against the wall. The spider was not slowed by its attack, however, and leapt from its perch on the wall towards the still recovering Starfire. The Tamaran did not have the impulse to dodge this time, allowing the spider to tackle her out of the air. It knocked her with such brute force that she dropped Robin from her arms. Grabbing her mid-air with its thick and hairy forearms, it directed its fall down to the ground, the air ruffling its thick fur as they fell.  
  
"Starfire!" Robin yelled as he plummeted through the air. Using his cat- like spontaneous effort, he moved his body toward a pillar nearby. Grabbing onto a large rock that jutted out about twenty feet from the ground, he took out his bird-a-rang. Taking careful aim, he threw it with all his might.  
  
The spider, with Starfire still in its grasps, landed brusquely on the ground, its massive legs absorbing the shock. Holding the Tamaran in its forearms, it gnashed its fangs together and pushed its head closer to the trapped girl. Starfire screamed and struggled, but could not break free of the creature's ironclad grip. Her eyes turned a brilliant shade of emerald, and thin bolts of energy shot out from her eyes. But to her great disparagement, they were reflected harmlessly off the spider's obdurate exoskeleton. All of a sudden, however, a flash of steel came flying toward the spider, making a very loud whistling sound as it went. The spider turned around to see what the noise was, and abruptly roared loudly with pain. When Starfire had regained herself enough to make heads or tails of what happened, she saw Robin's bird-a-rang sticking out of one of the spider's eye, half in yet half out. The spider roared again with pain, green and black blood flowing out of the wound freely.  
  
It then hit her. 'The monster's eyes are its weak spots!' she thought to herself.  
  
She managed to wedge herself free because of the spider's new preoccupancy and flew over to Robin, who was still hanging from the same column. Picking him up, she yelled out loud, "Robin! The creature's eyes are its weak spots!"  
  
Robin lit up and said, "Yes! That's it!"  
  
Using one of its forearms, the spider managed to tear out Robin's bird-a- rang, its eye spewing blood in the process. Turning towards its airborne adversaries, it roared with all its might. It scooted back a little and shook its head ferociously, its seven good eyes focusing on Robin and Starfire. Lunging forward swiftly and hastily, its shot a volley of fireballs out of its mouth, each one moving behind the other in succession. Starfire yelped reflexively and sprinted to her left, easily dodging the slow-moving fireballs. Flying in a zigzag pattern, she effectively managed to evade each of the creature's attacks. The spider roared in frustration, spewing more fireballs with each passing second.  
  
Meanwhile, their comrades were trying not to get eaten by the smaller army of spiders. Raven was flying above the ground well enough on her own, but Beast Boy and Cyborg were having a tougher time. Beast Boy couldn't fly as well and fast as Raven while carrying Cyborg, and to make things worse, the spiders could jump. High.  
  
"Little help here!" Cyborg said, knocking a spider off of his arm. Raven saw their predicament, and rushed over to help.  
  
"Azareth Metrion Zinthos!" she yelled, raising her hands up above her head. A large chunk of the ceiling began glowing black and detached itself from the rest of the ceiling. She brought her hands down quickly and abruptly, the chunk of ceiling moving in unison with her hands and crashing to the floor, crushing hundred of spiders underneath it. To her great dismay, however, there were still far too many spiders. To make matters worse, the survivors merely crawled over the boulder and used it as a means of jumping higher.  
  
Raven was out of ideas. Evidently, the spiders were smarter than her.  
  
She didn't have to think for long, however, as a giant fireball went sailing by her, singing the tips of her hair. Whipping her head around, she spied Robin and Starfire flying around wildly. She looked harder and saw the giant spider chasing after them, bounding along and discharging balls of fire. Venom continued to drip from its fangs continuously, the drops of venom plummeting down to the ground, melting the unlucky spiders it made contact with.  
  
'Wait a minute...' Raven thought to herself. Taking careful aim, she summoned a sphere of dark energy in her hand and threw it at the spider. Although it didn't make a scratch, she managed to get the attention of the huge monster. Jumping onto a wall fifty feet above the ground, it roared at Raven and shook its head viciously.  
  
The Azareth grinned, lowered herself down closer to the ground, and began taunting the spider. The huge creature roared again and shot a huge fireball out of its mouth. Raven dodged nimbly out of the way, high above the spider. Raven smiled as she saw the fireball sail on towards the ground, incinerating hundreds, maybe thousands of spiders as it landed. A huge, blackened scorch mark appeared where it had landed, probably twenty feet wide and just as long. Raven took too long to recover, however, and when she looked back up, she saw the gnashing fangs of the spider inches away from her face. Quickly, she summoned a barrier of energy using her powers, but when the spider hit it, Raven was knocked back with such force she went sailing across the room, crashing against the wall on the other side. Shakily, she regained herself, but not before faltering around mid- air.  
  
The spider landed on the ground nimbly and prepared itself for another attack. It settled back and leapt towards Raven, but was knocked out of the air by a blue beam coming from the side. Raven looked for its source and saw Cyborg riding a green pterodactyl, sonic cannon out.  
  
"Your welcome!" Cyborg yelled. Raven rolled her eyes and flew over to the spider, which was lying in a pile of rubble.  
  
"Azareth Metrion Zinthos!" Raven yelled, her eyes turning black. A large amount of the rubble near and around the spider became enshrouded in a black aura, lifting themselves up off of the spider as Raven brought her hands up. Her hands moving in perfect unison with the rocks, she abruptly swung her hands down forcefully. The rocks hovered for a moment, and then brought themselves down vehemently upon the still recuperating spider. The spider roared in pain under the crushing weight of the huge boulders, squirming with all its might to get free. It spat out venom furiously and wildly, but none of them hit their mark. Instead, they all managed to find their way back to the floor, killing a large number of the spider army. It squirmed harder and harder, but found itself getting buried further and further under the pile of rocks. Cyborg leapt down from Beast Boy and began blasting the remaining spiders, of which there were very few.  
  
Beast Boy landed next to Raven and shifted back into his normal form. Grinning he sidled up to Raven and said, "You know, one day we'll all look back on this and laugh. If we don't die, that it."  
  
Raven rolled her eyes and pushed Beast Boy away.

* * *

Unknown to the Titans, however, Izevm was watching them from the ceiling, invisible. He had shifted into an intangible form, preventing all touch and sight. Spying the Titans' feat, he growled and flew up into the highest room where he resided. Resuming his normal, corporeal form, he approached the mirror through which he and his master communicated.  
  
Standing in front of the mirror, he watched as the mirror radiated an immersed, dark shade of red. The familiar cloud of burgundy interlaced with black and blue appeared, slowly swirling around like it was going down a drain. The cloud demystified and vanished, replaced by the ethereal head of his master.  
  
The face encompassed a look of serenity and said with a deep, thundering voice, "What is it, my acolyte?"  
  
Izevm bowed deeply and said, "Many apologies, sir, but the Titans have defeated the spiders."  
  
"Is that so?" the incorporeal head said, resuming a look of pondering before continuing, "I think the only way to be rid of them is to pick them all off individually. Their strength must lie in teamwork, an easy hurdle to get over. Booby-trap the hallway. We'll see how easily they can get through that."  
  
Izevm bowed again and said, "Yes, my lord."

* * *

"Look! An exit!" Beast Boy yelled, pointing to an obscure hallway that lay off to the side. Robin looked at it dubiously and said, "Beast Boy, are you sure we should go that way?"  
  
Beast Boy nodded vigorously and said, "My animal instincts tell me we should. Besides, I don't see any other way."  
  
Beast Boy ran off in the direction of the corridor, motioning for the others to follow. Robin looked at Cyborg and shrugged. Raven blinked absentmindedly and began following Robin towards the corridor, the other Titans following suit.  
  
Upon reaching the corridor, Beast Boy immediately began regretting his choice. The corridor was dark and dank, lighted only by a few random torches sticking from the wall. It was decorated all around with skeletons and disembodied skulls, most of which were teeming with rats. Beast Boy shuddered. He didn't like rats.  
  
To his surprise, he found another corridor splitting off from this one. This one as well, was littered with skeletons, but it had a sign right before it that said, "Shortcut" in smeared blood red ink.  
  
Beast Boy grinned and began walking towards the sign, but was stopped by a forceful hand on his shoulder. Robin grasped his shoulder firmly and said, "Beast Boy, hold on a minute. There's something...suspicious about this place. We should turn back. Maybe there's another way to find Izevm. Or maybe he's not even in this cathedral at all. Maybe this place was just one big trap!"  
  
Beast Boy rolled his eyes and said, "Or maybe he's waiting right at the end of this corridor! Trust me on this!"  
  
Raven shook her head and said, "Beast Boy, for once in your life, could you not be so stubborn!?"  
  
But no sooner had she said that, a huge stone door came crashing down in front of the entrance, trapping them inside the corridor. Robin shot a death glare at Beast Boy and said, "I rest my case."  
  
Robin began to walk down the main hallway, the rest of the team following. Beast Boy grumbled and began to walk slowly with them, but all of a sudden, another huge door came hurtling down, this one separating Beast Boy from the rest of the Titans."NO!" Beast Boy yelled angrily. He quickly transformed into an elephant and began charging against the door, but he could not knock it down. Determined to find a way out, he shifted into the form of a groundhog and desperately tried to burrow through the ground, but that didn't work either. He furiously pounded against the door, but nothing worked.

* * *

"Beast Boy!" Robin yelled, ramming the door with all his strength. He only managed to bruise his shoulder, however.  
  
Raven's eyes opened wide as she said, "No...Beast Boy..."  
  
Robin shook his head and said, "Well, there's nothing to do but follow this corridor. If we're lucky, maybe the two paths will meet."  
  
"But Robin, we can't abandon Beast Boy!" Starfire said irately. Cyborg nodded and said, "Yeah, what if he gets hurt?"  
  
"Beast Boy's a smart kid. He'll be able to make it," Robin said, "and besides, it's not there's anything we can do about it."  
  
With that, he began walking down the antechamber. Starfire considered arguing, but decided against it and began following Robin. Cyborg put away his sonic cannon and followed, making careful notice not to trip over one of the skeletons. Raven lowered her head and followed glumly.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later...  
  
Starfire was casually walking along, when all of a sudden, the ground before her disappeared.  
  
"Ahh!" she yelled. Fortunately, she had the reflexes to catch herself in mid-air before falling to what seemed like a pit full of spikes.  
  
"Robin! What have I done to the ground to make it upset?" Starfire yelled, dangling in mid-air. Raven shook her head and said, "Nothing, Starfire. This place must be booby-trapped. We'll have to be a lot more careful."  
  
Starfire cautiously hovered to the other side of the pit, lowering herself down onto the ground. Robin ran back a few feet, then bounded over the pit. Raven lifted Cyborg up by his arms and drifted over the hole, dropping him off at the end.  
  
They all sighed with relief, glad to be back in safety's reach. Robin resumed walking down the vestibule.  
  
A couple hundred feet down, the corridor changed into a more elegant surrounding, with paintings and a glass chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Robin paused for a moment to look at the painting, and then pressed onward. He paused for a moment, for he thought he heard childish laughing. He whipped around and searched the room, but could see nothing. He turned back around, only to hear the same snickering.  
  
Robin began to get frustrated. "Okay, who the hell is making that noise?!" he yelled irritably. Cyborg shrugged and said, "I wasn't making any noise.  
  
"Me neither," Raven said monotonously. Starfire shook her head and said, "Or me."  
  
Robin raised an eyebrow and turned back around. Almost on cue, there it was again. He whipped back around to see what the hell it was, when he saw the people in the paintings moving on their own. Safe to say, he was fairly terrified.

* * *

Beast Boy trudged forward, tired from the long walk. To his great respite, he found light being emitted from a short distance up ahead. He had found the exit!  
  
He laughed with joy and began sprinting towards the light, hopping over the random skull or skeleton.  
  
"Yes!" Beast Boy yelled, having reached the light at the end of the tunnel. He laughed with joy, not yet taking in his surroundings.  
  
"Hello, Beast Boy," came a cocky and brusque voice. Beast Boy whipped around intuitively.  
  
"Izevm!" he yelled furiously. The evil Azareth merely chuckled and said, "Yes?"  
  
"What the hell did you do to Jump City?"  
  
Izevm rolled his eyes and said, "Just one tiny, insignificant step in a much larger plan, my good friend."  
  
"Good friend my ass!" Beast Boy yelled, and transformed into a tiger. Roaring loudly, he leaped at Izevm, claws outstretched. Izevm nimbly rolled to the side and grabbed a spear that was resting next to a fireplace. Beast Boy landed off to the side, right next to a rack of swords and spears. While Beast Boy was still recovering from the failed attack, Izevm began charging towards Beast Boy with the spear extended. Beast Boy saw the attack just in time and swiftly ducked underneath it. Changing back into his neutral form, he grabbed the spear and tried to wrench it away from Izevm. While he pulled on it, Izevm lifted up his foot and kicked Beast Boy in the stomach hard. The green changeling was knocked into the wall, but regained himself quick enough to dodge the spear that Izevm rammed into the wall.  
  
The Azareth tried to disconnect his spear from the wall, but it was stuck in there good. Beast Boy used the distraction to shape shift into a bear and knock Izevm down. Beast Boy held Izevm down by the arms with his paws, making sure Izevm had no way to move.  
  
Izevm struggled against Beast Boy's obdurate grasp, but could not free himself. Beast Boy pushed his mouth closer and bared his fangs, blowing hot, steamy breath into Izevm's face. Izevm reached out into his mind and heard him thinking, 'This time, he's not going to trick me.'  
  
Thinking quickly, Izevm managed to free one of his hands and grab one of the still burning embers from the fireplace. He threw them into Beast Boy's eyes and escaped his adamant grasp.  
  
"Arghh!' Beast Boy yelled, resuming his normal form and violently pawing away at his burning eyes. While he was distracted, Izevm took a sword from the rack and tackled Beast Boy into the wall. Beast Boy regained his sight and saw Izevm raising the sword up above his head. He tried to transform, but could not do it quick enough. Izevm brought the flat of the sword down hard on top of Beast Boy's skull, knocking him nearly unconscious. He felt blood trickle down his forehead, but was unable to move his arms.  
  
Izevm laughed evilly and brought the sword so that the tip was poking Beast Boy's stomach. "Oh, doesn't this look familiar? Ah, yes," he said, bringing his face inches away from Beast Boy's, continuing, "this is exactly how I killed Carmen."  
  
With that, Izevm thrust the sword forward with all his might. 


	18. A Beautiful Oblivion Part 4

**Poor Twisted Me Chapter 18**  
  
Hi everyone! I'm back. It was pretty fun down in south Carolina, but I'm not going to go into detail, because I know everyone's dying to see if Beast Boy's dead or not. No pun intended. The only bad part was that I got three huge bug bites and they ITCH LIKE HELL!  
  
On a bit of a darker note, I received my first flame a couple weeks ago from someone named ocdsugar. But she did take note of what I would accept, so I won't get mad. The only part that was unnecessary was when she called me dumb, since I have an IQ of 157.  
  
Anyways, review answering time!  
  
Snea- Hey, that's a good idea. I will make it extra long!  
  
Mrs. Myxztipik- What do you mean by 'doing the dishes with this story'? I didn't quite get that part. But anyways, thanks for reviewing!  
  
Living Impaired- I don't know what you did to deserve this! Maybe it's because you like an author who goes on so many trips! Hehe.  
  
Fanfic Gurl- hey! You're back! What's up? And I'm updating! See? I am right now!  
  
Loviegurlie- Thanks! And there will be a lot more chapters, now that you ask. If the two other acts are as long as this one, it might go up to 60 chapters! Holy crap. Wow, that's gotta be, like, 720 reviews! Am I the only one who likes to see how many reviews I get per chapter?  
  
Daeren Ryft- Yeah, that whole sandwich fetish just popped into my head. Ever have that? Ideas that just pop into your head at random? I do.  
  
RavenxWill- Thanks for taking my advice, but it's really my fault in the first place. I was venting frustration, and it was wrong and insensitive. I'm just glad we both stopped fighting.  
  
On with the story!

* * *

Robin nudged Starfire in the shoulder, trying to catch her attention. The Tamaran looked around and said, "What is it, Robin?"  
  
Robin pointed to the paintings and said, "Star, I think we have trouble."  
  
Starfire glanced at the static canvases and saw nothing. Exhaling deeply, she said, "Robin, those are just normal paintings. I see nothing extraordinary about them."  
  
Robin's face read of genuine shock as he glanced at the inert images.  
  
"But the people inside them were moving a minute ago!" the masked leader said with a tone that reminisced of slight disappointment.  
  
Cyborg shook his head and turned to Robin. "I think you're getting a little paranoid, Robin. Maybe this place is getting to you," the hybrid said, placing a hand on Robin's shoulder. He was about to add more when the sound of insidious laughter, almost like a hyena's laugh, cut through the silence. He whipped around and saw the aforementioned people laughing inside their paintings, much to his alarm.  
  
Robin pointed a finger and said, "See! I told you! I told you!"  
  
A cloud of blood-red smoke appeared in front of the row of pictures, drifting about lazily, yet forebodingly. It finally split into five different clouds; one for each painting, and each section enveloped a canvas, coating them in their ruby haze. The piercing laughing continued until the paintings glowed a dark mix of black and gray, the gray striped interlacing with the black. A lone, disembodied skull popped out of one, like it was a portal, and roared. It pulled itself out of the painting, bringing its full body into light. Most of its form was incorporeal, save its skull head. It had ghostlike arms and a cloak that you could see through, and it carried a large, Reaper-like scythe in its right hand. Its entire body was a dark shade of black, with its scythe tainted red. Soon after, four more spirits just like it emerged from their respective paintings, each holding their own scythe.  
  
Robin growled and grabbed his bird-a-rang. "Titans, GO!!" he said, before throwing his bird-a-rang at the nearest spirit. To his surprise, however, it sailed right through it and hit the wall. The spirit he threw it at turned to face him and roared, advancing with surprising speed. It swung its scythe at Robin, who ducked nimbly to dodge it. The demon kept pressing forward, slashing with its huge weapon while Robin continued to dodge with grace and agility, until Robin found that he had been backed up into a wall. The spirit took one huge swing, but Robin ducked and slid under the ghost's ethereal bottom. The demon, however, had quick enough reflexes to jab the scythe backwards, hitting Robin in the back as he slid under.  
  
Cyborg took out his sonic cannon and fired at the spirit attacking Robin, but his attempt failed as well. The energy blast hit the spirit right in the arm, but like Robin's bird-a-rang, it sailed through it and blew a considerably large hole in the wall. Frustrated, Cyborg fired again and again at the demon, but each failed like the last. Unaware of the spirit that was approaching behind him, he continued to fire in rage until another ghost slashed him across the back with its jagged scythe, although fortunately hitting the mechanical side. Cyborg was knocked forward from the force of the blow, sailing into the ground a couple yards in front of him. Turning onto his back, he spotted the nearing spirit with enough time to jump out of the way. The demon's scythe cut into the stone floor, leaving a huge gash you could have buried a person in. Cyborg bounded back up and leapt backwards, hitting another spirit in the process. The new demon turned its attention to Cyborg, and with a roar, swung its scythe at the hybrid. Cyborg blocked the attack with his left hand, snapping the scythe in half as they made contact. Grabbing the blade as it broke, Cyborg held it in front of the demon and made a mocking face.  
  
"I got your weapon, I got weapon!" Cyborg gloated in a singsong voice. The spirit took one look at him as bits of fire began to drift out of its mouth. Opening its mouth wide, the ghost spat a huge torrent of fire at Cyborg, flames branching out in every direction. The hybrid managed to duck in time to avoid getting hit head on by the inferno, but still got the top of his head singed.  
  
"Today just isn't my day," Cyborg lamented as he rolled to the left to dodge another blaze.  
  
Starfire threw a volley of starbolts at the three lingering spirits, all of them missing. Each attack only served to attract attention to her, however, as each demon sprinted towards her. Reflexively, she flew up above the chandelier, her three antagonists following her.  
  
"Azareth Metrion Zinthos!" Raven yelled, her hands glowing black. Each of the spirits became coated in black and was hurled up into the wall, causing rocks to fall off of the ceiling from the impact. One stone fell down and hit a ghost on the skull, bouncing off of it and rolling to the ground.  
  
All of a sudden, it hit Raven.  
  
"Starfire! Robin! Cyborg! Their skulls are the only parts that can you can hit!" she yelled, oblivious to the spirit that had recovered and risen up above the chandelier, readying its scythe. With a large swing, it cut the chain keeping the chandelier up, causing the decorative piece to fall down to the ground- right in Raven's way.  
  
Starfire saw the impending danger and flew to help. "Raven, look out!" she said, shoving her friend out of the way just in time, mere seconds after a deafening 'CRASH!' shook the room. Raven looked back at Starfire and said, "Thanks, Star."  
  
Starfire smiled and said, "You are most welcome, Raven."  
  
Robin jumped up to avoid a low swing from his attacker's scythe, and swung his Bo-staff at the monster's head. Making direct contact with the forehead of the skull, Robin jumped back to avoid any retaliation. The spirit shook off the attack and charged forward, swinging its scythe wildly. Robin blocked each attack with his staff with ease, rolling underneath the demon's ethereal form and swinging at the monster's skull mid-roll, knocking it into a nearby wall.  
  
Raven fired a round of black energy spheres, taking careful aim to hit the skull. The attacking monster was knocked down again and again, until another spirit saw the fight and flew up behind Raven and, using the end of its scythe, rammed her in the back.  
  
Robin saw his Azareth friend's predicament and rushed over to help. Just as the two spirits were about to attack her, Robin jump kicked one in the head and smashed his staff against the other. Robin helped her up and said, "This isn't working. We need a plan, now!"  
  
Raven nodded and said, "You're right. I think I have one. Just tell everyone to get behind me."  
  
Robin nodded and yelled, "Everyone! Get behind Raven!"  
  
Raven, not taking notice of her teammates scrambling to do so, began focusing her energy on the remaining spirits.  
  
"Azareth Metrion Zinthos!" she yelled as the entire bottom half of the room began glowing black. The five demons saw this, and looked on curiously before the floor came rising up quickly, crushing them into the ceiling before they could react.  
  
Raven sighed and fell down onto the ground, exhausted. Just as she did so, the wall from which the now empty paintings lay began to rise, revealing some kind of door that had a hole in the middle and an eerie, blood-red handle shaped like a skull.  
  
Robin walked over and tried to open the door, but his efforts were futile. The door simply wouldn't budge. He sighed and punched the door in frustration, which served only hurt his knuckles.  
  
Cyborg looked over at Robin and said, "Didn't you swipe that key we found just before that freakishly large spider attacked?"  
  
Robin thought back for a minute and realized he was right. Grinning despite the throbbing pain in his knuckles, he said, "Cy, you're right!" Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the spherical key and placed it into the socket. Sure enough, the door rumbled and rose up to show...another corridor.  
  
Cyborg groaned and said, "Jesus Christ monkey balls, what is with this guy and corridors?"  
  
Raven looked at him and said, "What is it with you and 'monkey balls'?"  
  
Cyborg thought for a minute, then shrugged. "I dunno. Just a catchy phrase."  
  
Raven rolled her eyes and said, "Whatever."

* * *

"Damn it!" Izevm yelled, throwing his crystal ball aside, causing it to shatter against the hard floor. As it shattered, a wisp of red smoke drifted up, changing into the head of a dragon and roaring at Izevm before dissipating into nothingness. Izevm growled and, with a snap of his fingers, the crystal ball reassembled itself.  
  
Izevm sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "The master won't be pleased with this...travesty."  
  
Straightening himself up, he approached the large mirror and stood in front of it. The mirror glowed black with red stripes streaking the black shade. A few seconds later, the shadowed head of Izevm's master appeared, wearing a very impatient look on his face.  
  
"What is it? Don't tell me the Titans have gotten past our defenses again!" the disembodied head screamed, rage in his voice. Izevm cringed slightly before continuing, "Yes, they did, Master, but I do have some good news."  
  
The head looked at him with disregard and spat out, "Fine. At least you haven't totally screwed up."  
  
Izevm nodded and said, "I did manage to kill one of the members." Izevm's master looked at him with interest and said, "Did you really? I never thought you could actually do it. Pray tell, which one was it, Izevm?"  
  
"The green one, sir. Beast Boy is his name. He's the one who can change into animals and also dresses"  
  
The head laughed and said, "Not bad, Izevm, not bad. You may still be useful to me."  
  
Izevm chuckled nervously before pressing onward. Taking a deep breath, he asked, "How should I dispose of them, my lord?"  
  
Izevm's master turned his head upward in a gesture of thought. About half of a minute passed before the head responded with, "They are in the third hallway, correct?"  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
"Activate the second booby trap. You killed the pet on the third room, first floor, correct?"  
  
Izevm nodded and grinned with pomposity. "Yes, I did. He was quite the handful," he said, sucking in his chest.  
  
"Don't let it go to your head. If they get past the trap, send Black Muse to the second floor. He'll dispose of them with ease," the head said, disappearing after his last word.  
  
Izevm shuddered. He didn't like Black Muse.

* * *

"Okay, all I'm asking is that when you were going out with this guy, did he ever seem sadistical, homicidal, and/or insane?" Cyborg asked. Raven groaned and replied, "First of all, it's 'sadistic' not 'sadistical'. Second of all, he seemed perfectly sane whenever I was around him. He must have snapped sometime after I left."  
  
Cyborg rolled his eyes and said, "Gee, you think?"  
  
Robin groaned. They had been going at it for about five minutes now. Well, at least Cyborg had.  
  
"Okay, and did he ever have a really weird fascination with dark and creepy corridors?" Cyborg said, not willing to give up.  
  
"No! Now will you stop annoying me?!" Raven yelled, her temper beginning to take the better of her. Cyborg cringed and said, "Okay..."  
  
Under his breath, he said, "Must be that time of month."  
  
SMACK!  
  
Raven must have heard that one, since the left half of Cyborg's face now sported a comical hand-shaped mark that glowed a bright red.  
  
Starfire couldn't help but giggle. It helped keep her mind off of Beast Boy's absence and the intrinsic eeriness and vice of the tunnel. For the time being, at least.  
  
Cyborg rubbed the side of his face and mumbled under his breath. Raven turned around and said, "What was that?"  
  
"Nothing, nothing at all."  
  
Raven considered reading his mind, but decided he had been going through enough, with Carmen being dead and his best friend missing and all that jazz.  
  
A loud rumbling that reverberated against the rock walls of the corridor interrupted Raven's musings. She whipped around reflexively, but saw nothing. Shrugging it off, she began following Robin down the corridor again. It must have been her imagination. All of a sudden, the walls of the hallway began closing in on them, moving slowly but surely.  
  
"Titans, run!" Robin said, and began sprinting down the corridor, followed by Starfire, then Raven, and then Cyborg. The masked leader pointed at the end and said, "Look! I see the light!"  
  
Sure enough, there was the light at the end of the tunnel. Cyborg thought for a moment while running, and then said, "Light at the end of the tunnel? That's got to be symbolic, or something. Unless it means, like, we're near the end of the tunnel."  
  
Raven groaned. Even now, he had time for jokes. At least it almost made up for Beast Boy not being here. Almost.  
  
Robin watched as the light got closer...closer...and he was there! He sprinted out of the end, sighing in relief as he saw his comrades make it out of the tunnel one by one. Cyborg, being the last one out, looked back at the still closing tunnel. They had made it out by a lot, into a very dimly lit room with bars on the windows like at a prison, which added to the bloodcurdling aura of the room.  
  
Cyborg groaned and said, "Oh, come on. That wasn't dramatic at all. It's nothing like in the movies where they make it out by, like, a second. It'll be at least another minute before that closes. How anticlimactic."  
  
Raven groaned and said, "Will you stop with the jokes? I am really not in the mood!"  
  
Cyborg made a weird motion with his head and said, "Well, Ms. Cranky, why don't you ask what everyone else thinks?"  
  
Robin butted in and replied, "Actually, Cyborg, it is starting to get on my nerves."  
  
Starfire nodded. "Yes, it is getting irritating," The Tamaran said tranquilly.  
  
Cyborg growled and yelled, "YOU TWO STAY OUT OF THIS!"  
  
Raven rolled her eyes and said, "You want me to slap you again?"  
  
"No, ma'am."  
  
"Why is it so dark in here?" Starfire said, using a starbolt as a makeshift torch. Robin thought for a minute and said, "Hey, wait a minute, if it's so dark in here, then how could we see light at the end of the tunnel?"  
  
"Don't you start, too," Raven said irritably. Robin put up his hands and said, "Hey, I was just asking."  
  
Starfire began walking forward. About two seconds passed before she began hearing, "Idiot son of an asshole, he's the idiot son of an asshole, he's our president!"  
  
"Who the hell is singing?" Raven said tetchily. Cyborg laughed and said, "Hey, it's NOFX. Don't dis NOFX." After another death-glare from Raven, he shrank back and said, "I'll stop talking now."  
  
'You sure as hell better."  
  
Starfire stopped for a moment to make sure they weren't going to start killing each other, then resumed walking. All of a sudden, she stumbled and lost her balance. She looked back to see what she had stumbled over, but couldn't make it out over the darkness. Crouching down and bringing her starbolt closer, she was able to make the image clearer. It appeared to be a person, but she still couldn't see that well.  
  
Starfire gasped as she suddenly realized whom it was.  
  
"Beast Boy!" she screamed. The other Titans turned around quickly, eager to see their companion. Raven rushed up over to Starfire and asked, "Is he okay?"  
  
Starfire shook her head and said, "No he does not respond. Maybe he is unconscious."  
  
It was then, when Starfire lowered the starbolt to get a better view of Beast Boy, that she saw the large sword protruding from Beast Boy's stomach and the large pool of blood underneath him.  
  
"No...no...no!" Raven said, her eyes welling with tears. With out warning, she fell onto Starfire's shoulders and began sobbing uncontrollably. Starfire felt her eyes water, then erupt into full-blown weeping.  
  
"And...the last...thing...I ever...said...to him...was to stop being so stubborn!" Raven bemoaned, sobs interrupting her laments.  
  
Cyborg didn't know how to react. Beast Boy...dead? He could only feel himself fall to his knees as he started to take in what had happened. Tears began to stream down his face as he said, "Beast Boy...no, this can't be true..."  
  
Raven lifted her head up from Starfire's shoulder to look at her fallen comrade. As her glance turned to the protruding sword, she saw something engraved on the handle. She couldn't quite make all of it out, but the lavishly colored, gold plated 'I-Z-E-V' told her enough. Suddenly, her eyes began glowing a bright red, and Starfire drew back as she heard several explosions echo throughout the room.  
  
"I'm...gonna...kill that little bastard!" Raven yelled, her voice gruff and demonic, nothing at all like her normal voice. A large flare of dark energy shot out around her, leaving large scorch marks wherever they hit. With astonishing speed none of the Titans had ever seen before, Raven flew up a flight of stair in the back of the room, leaving bits of black energy in her path. Robin raced after her, saying "Raven, wait!"  
  
Starfire flew after Robin, trying to keep herself from sobbing further.  
  
Cyborg, however, stayed behind for a moment. Crouching down on one knee, he lowered his head and said, "Goodbye, Beast Boy. You were a good friend and a great man. I'll never forget you."  
  
With that, he rose up and began following his teammates.  
  
"I swear to God, even if it's the last thing I do, I will make you pay, Izevm!"

* * *

Izevm waited idly, sitting in his ridiculously lavish chair, watching the Titans race up the lengthy stairs through his crystal ball. Chuckling he said to himself, "My dear Cyborg, how foolish you are."  
  
Out of the blue, Izevm heard a loud swirling sound. He turned around to see a large cloud of red smoke form in the large mirror he used to make contact with the master. The head of his master appeared, looking furious.  
  
"Izevm! Why have you summoned me!?" the head roared. Izevm cringed and said, "But I did not summon you, my lord."  
  
Izevm's master growled and spat, "Well, it sure as hell was someone!"  
  
Izevm drew back and said, "But master, I had no reason to summon you! The Titans are still climbing that stairs!"  
  
The disembodied head thought about that for a minute. A huge grin spread across his face as he realized what had happened.  
  
"I think I know what happened," he said with a chuckle. Turning to Izevm, he said, "I have new orders for you. You can possess the dead, correct?"  
  
Izevm nodded curtly. His master grinned wider and said, "Good. Possess the green one and make sure you get to the Titans before Black Muse does. If they don't suspect anything, then they will get all happy and go through a whole routine. Just grit your teeth and bear it. Once they are done, fight with them against Black Muse."  
  
Izevm gulped and said, "Fight against one of our own? But why, master?"  
  
"Because it's a win-win situation. If the Titans lose against Black Muse, then they will be out of the way and you can reveal yourself to Black muse and say it was my orders. If the Titans win against Black Muse, then they will most likely be dead tired. That's when you attack. Understand?"  
  
Izevm nodded again and said, "Yes, my lord."  
  
With that, the head disappeared in a cloud of black smoke. Izevm shuddered and assumed an incorporeal form. Flying through the floor, he looked around for Beast Boy's corpse. Upon finding it, he flew into his body and took control over his dead brain. Unfortunately for him, taking over Beast Boy's brain awoke Beast Boy as well.  
  
_'Huh...dude, what happened?'_ Izevm heard as he was still in the process of taking total control.  
  
_'I'll tell you what's happened. Your dead and I'm using your body to destroy your friends,'_ Izevm responded mentally.  
  
_'What? Izevm? How'd you get in here?'_  
  
_'Because, you fool, I can take over the minds of the dead and make them do my bidding. Now shut and let me take over your mind in peace.'_  
  
_'No! I won't let you! I'd rather go back to being dead than this!'_ Beast Boy said, almost regaining control. But his efforts were futile, as Izevm gained complete control within seconds.  
  
_'At least that's what'll happen to you once I'm through,'_ Izevm retorted. Looking through Beast Boy's eyes, he eyed the sword still obtruding from his stomach. With one hand, he grabbed the handle of the sword and pulled it out, spilling blood all over his pants.  
  
Izevm grinned and changed into a bat. Beginning to fly up the staircase, he mentally said, _'Now, while we're waiting, why don't we look at all the embarrassing memories you wanted to keep buried?'  
_  
_'How about we don't?'_ Beast Boy mentally replied with anger. Izevm chuckled and replied, _'No, I think I will. Let's see...last year, when the other Titans were out, you rented a porno and put it on Robin's credit card...how interesting!'_  
  
_'Well, Robin's the kind of guy who's stupid enough to write his credit card number on a piece of paper so he won't forget, and leave it on the counter! And anyway, there was a "buy one, get one free" deal!'  
  
'Hm...you don't say...and when you were six, you threw up in your dad's suitcase and blamed it on your stuffed animal...weren't you a little prodigy?'  
  
'Okay, that was a little stupid, but I was only six!'  
  
'Sure, whatever you say...and what's this "noodle incident"?'  
_  
Just as Beast Boy was about to retaliate, Izevm saw Raven sprinting up the stairs with astonishing speed. Stopping in front of her, he changed back into neutral form. Raven halted immediately and stared.  
  
"Beast Boy?" she said softly, before throwing herself onto him and pressing her lips against his in a passionate kiss.  
  
_'Oh yeah...'_ Izevm thought, gloating. Beast Boy mentally growled and reacted, _'Will you just shut up already?'  
_  
Raven pulled away from the kiss and took a moment to look at Beast Boy/Izevm.  
  
"Beast Boy, I thought you were dead!"  
  
Beast Boy/Izevm chuckled and said, "Yeah, umm...they don't make swords like they used to?"  
  
Raven raised and eyebrow with suspicion, but stopped when she saw the huge gash in Beast Boy's stomach from the sword. "Beast Boy, you're hurt!"  
  
Beast Boy/Izevm waved his hand and replied, "Ah, it's nothing. Just a flesh wound."  
  
"And why are your eyes black?"  
  
Izevm wasn't prepared for that one. Beast Boy laughed mentally and said, 'Ha, she got you!'  
  
'Shut up, you asshole, and give me a moment to think.'  
  
Beast Boy/Izevm shrugged and said, "Oh, they are? I had no idea. Maybe it's a, uh, disease?"  
  
Raven looked at him quizzically. "A disease?" she said, but shrugged it off and embraced Beast Boy/Izevm tightly. Nuzzling her head in his shoulder, she smiled and said, "I'm just so happy you're alive."  
  
"I wish I could say the same..." Izevm said, with a hint of malice in his voice. Raven looked up and said, "What was that?"  
  
"Nothing, nothing at all."  
  
"Raven, wait up!" Cyborg said, running up the stairs after. Upon seeing Beast Boy, he stopped in his tracks and rubbed his eyes. Upon confirming his sight was fully functional, he ran over to his comrade and yelled, "Beast Boy! You're alive" The hybrid embraced Beast Boy in a tight hug, saying, "Beast Boy! You were dead! Now you're alive! How the hell did that happen?"  
  
Beast Boy/Izevm ducked to get out of the hug and said, "Never mind the details, what matters is that I'm here."  
  
Cyborg looked at him perplexedly and said, "Why are your eyes black?"  
  
"Can we forget about my eyes for a minute?!"  
  
Just as Cyborg was about to say something else, the sound of Starfire and Robin's voice stopped him. Starfire, who was flying very quickly to catch up to Raven, nearly crashed into Beast Boy/Izevm before stopping herself in mid-air.  
  
"Beast Boy! You are unharmed!" Starfire yelled before throwing her arms around Beast Boy/Izevm and squeezing him tightly. Very tightly.  
  
"Starfire...can't breath...seeing stars..." Beast Boy/Izevm said, his/their face turning red from lack of oxygen. Starfire let go and said, "Beast Boy, I thought you were dead!"  
  
Beast Boy/Izevm groaned and said, "Yes, I know, can we please get over that?"  
  
"Impossible!" came Robin's voice. "I saw you! You were back there in that room, and you were dead, and you weren't alive! How did this happen?"  
  
Beast Boy/Izevm snorted and said, "Gee, you seem happy to see me."  
  
Robin sighed and said, "No, I am, but you had a freaking sword in your stomach, for crying out loud! And why are your eyes black?"  
  
Beast Boy/Izevm groaned and said, "Look, let's just get over the fact that I'm alive and here, and can we please just go up these stairs and fight the next monster?"  
  
Robin looked at him suspiciously. "How would you know there's another monster at the end of these stairs?"  
  
Izevm stumbled on that one. "Uh, I don't? I was just, uh, guessing! Yeah, guessing!"  
  
_'You won't get away with this, you bastard!'_ Beast Boy yelled mentally. Izevm just chuckled.  
  
_'My dear Beast Boy, I already have."_

* * *

Woohoo! Everybody saw "Betrayal" Saturday, right? Ha! I knew Terra was a filthy traitor! She'll go to hell and die! Ahem...sorry, got a little carried away. But aside from that whole Terra/BB date thing, it was awesome! Especially the whole 'you don't have any friends' part.  
  
Ahem...  
  
Sorry about referring to Beast Boy's physical form as 'Beast Boy/Izevm' but I just wanted to make sure people would know when Beast Boy and Izevm are arguing and when Izevm is using Beast Boy's body. Anyways, this is Ozzy signing out. 


	19. A Beautiful Oblivion Part 5

**Poor Twisted Me Chapter 19**

Hello, Ozzy here. Soooooooo sorry it took so long to update, but I've had to do this really stupid book report that I have to do for school. And since I'm in high school now, my mom's been getting on my case about how I can't skate by on not trying anymore and some other junk I didn't really pay attention to.

On the bright side, I did get the job of being the political columnist for my high school newspaper! (I'm big on politics- proud Democrat! Not to bring politics into this, that is).

By the way, this story is now rated R. Mostly because of the language. Hope no one minds.

Anyways, review answering time!

Daeren Ryft- I believe you have! Dude, I used to be obsessed with Calvin and Hobbes, only now they sort of lost their luster.

Kestrel- don't get too comfy! Remember, I can send Beast Boy back to being dead if I want to! Actually, I think I will. Muahaha!

PrincessCat- Aw, hope you get better! Too bad you missed Betrayal. It was hella awesome. Yay cookies!

Soraoathkeeper- aw, poor shirt. As for Beast Boy's eyes changing color, the reason for that is because Izevm is possessing him, and since Izevm's eyes are black, that shows through. I'll tell you how they get out of the predicament! They do stuff, then the bad guy does stuff, then they win! Yay! Actually, that's not how it'll go. But I'm not saying anything...I'm so evil.

Mrs. Myxztipik- oh, that's what you meant. My bad! And thank you!

Kelly- that's okay, I don't mind that you haven't been reviewing. Aw, I wuv you too! Warm fuzzies all around! And I have read your story! It's really awesomely awesome, so I put it on my favorites list! Yay!!!!

Living Impaired- Yay! I hate Terra too! I'm the treasurer of the Terra Hater's Club! Thanks for reviewing!

ScarletAngel68- you know, there's a reason behind Cyborg's humor that chapter. It's a filmmaking technique called comic relief- when things get really sad or gloomy or depressing, bring in the idiots! And I could never turn down a request from my favorite reviewer, unless it would mess up stuff up. Plus, chandeliers are awesome. Please, don't whine! That's my job! Yay sadistical! That should be my new favorite (non) word. As for your question, I meant to write "dresses in black", since he became a metalhead and all that jazz back in chapter five. I think it was chapter five. Either that or chapter four. Okay, 31,940 to go? That would be, like, 7 or 8 more chapters! Awesome! Oh wait, that's a while away. Nevermind. Oh, and remember when I said don't take my ideas as concrete? Well, that's happening in this chapter. Black Muse is now a different person.

Cd lover- look who's spazzy today...kinda like me, except I spazz every day of my life. 'Tis fun.

Arwynthevamplover- ooh, that's got to suck. My bad!

Bold Achilles- don't worry, Beast Boy won't be dead forever. He's just in damnation and a day. Teehee. Ha, a blunt smoking dog. That's Internet gold right there, don't you think?

One last note: During this chapter, when you see the words 'Beast Boy', I'm referring to Beast Boy being controlled by Izevm. I just didn't want to have to write Beast Boy/Izevm a million of times.

* * *

"How long are these stairs?" Cyborg complained. Beast Boy turned around and said, "About two more flights."

Robin looked at him charily. "How would you know that?" Robin said suspiciously. Beast Boy scratched his head and replied, "Uh...I was just...guessing?"

And, just as beast Boy said, after two more flights of stairs, the Titans found themselves facing a huge, iron door with every square inch coated with elaborate and convoluted designs, of either indecipherable symbols or prolific depictions of brutal fights between demonic creatures.

Robin looked around, wary from all the strange occurrences that had been happening. After determining that there was nothing that could jump out and attack them, he slowly pushed the door open.

The door creaked when moved, and opened to reveal a huge room, most likely as big as their entire basement. It was adorned with huge and decorative statues, and six pillars supported the ceiling, each one copiously garlanded with complex designs and what appeared to be precious metals. The walls were titivated with large painting, which made the Titans, save Beast Boy, very nervous.

Robin spotted a small man sitting in a chair at the end of the room, facing the wall. He looked elderly, with his snow-white hair and wrinkled face, which Robin took as a gin of harmlessness. The masked Titan began walking forward and yelled out "Hey, sir? Sir, can you help us?"

Cyborg put a restraining hand on Robin's shoulder. Robin looked up and said, "What?"

Cyborg shook his head and said, "I have a bad feeling about this. If a painting can try to kill you, then I don't know what would qualify as 'safe' anymore."

Robin rolled his eyes and said, "Look, he's just an old guy. What's he going to do, hit us with his walker?"

Beast Boy chuckled, which caused Raven to give him a funny look.

"What?" the changeling said.

"Well, for one, you always act like you know something we don't, and second, I don't think there's any type of disease that can turn your eyes black. Third, you got some fuzz on your shirt."

Beast Boy rubbed the fuzz off his shirt and shrugged. Raven stared at him, and for a moment, Beast Boy began to think she was onto him. But she shrugged it off and turned back around.

'You know, she's going to get you sooner or later. We know each other better than anyone else,' Beast Boy spat mentally. Izevm snorted and replied, 'Sure, keep telling yourself that. Even if she does catch on, it'll be too late.'

Robin ignored Cyborg's continued ranting and began walking closer to the aged man, yelling, "Sir? Excuse me!"

A booming, deeply distorted demonic voice said, "I've waited for you to come."

Robin stopped in his tracks, slightly creeped out by the voice. In a noticeably quieter voice, he said, "Sir?"

"I've waited here all alone."

Beast Boy chuckled again. Raven whipped around and said, "See? That's exactly what I'm talking about! You acting all evil!"

Beast Boy paused for a moment and said, "Wait, the good kind of evil, or the bad kind of evil?"

Raven raised an eyebrow and said, "There's a good kind of evil?"

Beast Boy nodded vigorously and said, "Yeah! Slayer, Dimmu Borgir, and Cradle of Filth and all those awesome bands that everyone labels evil and satanic are good kinds of evil. Bad kind of evil would be those crazy annoying infomercials that are always on when you're looking for something to watch early in the morning."

Raven was impressed. Only her Beast Boy would be able to make a good kind of evil.

'Still think she'll get me sooner or later?' Izevm gloated. Beast Boy growled mentally.

While Beast Boy and Raven were talking, the old man was not looking so helpless anymore. In that strident demonic voice, he yelled out, "Now that you've arrived, please stay awhile. I promise I won't keep you long."

Right between the words 'you' and 'long', the elder began growing, an evil look plastered upon his face. He sprouted from what couldn't have been more than five feet to fifteen feet. As he grew, his skin stretched and shrunk until it disappeared completely, leaving nothing but bare bones. His fingers shot out until they were five feet long, making him/it look strangely like Iron Maiden's "Fear of the Dark" graphic. Four huge tusks sprouted from his top and bottom front teeth and curled at the ends, making his skull look like a reverse saber-tooth tiger's. Finished transforming, it lowered its head to ground level and roared forcefully.

Cyborg gave Robin a knowing look. "Somehow, Robin, 'I told you so' doesn't quite fit the scenario here."

The being Izevm and his master referred to as Black Muse sprinted forward with surprising agility, lowered his head, and rammed Robin into the wall. The masked Titan turned in mid-air, and used to force of the attack to bounce from the wall and send himself flying towards Black Muse, foot outstretched. Black Muse ducked and grabbed Robin by his leg and threw him towards the wall. Robin was unable to maneuver quickly enough, and slammed headfirst into the side of the room, causing rubble and debris to fall from the wall. Starfire's eyes turned green as she threw a volley of starbolts at Black Muse. The evil being saw the oncoming attack and back flipped, his feet hitting the starbolts and knocking them back towards Starfire. The Tamaran ducked and weaved all over the air to avoid being hit. Black Muse rolled forward and hacked at Cyborg, aiming for his head. The hybrid grabbed one of the claws as it was being swung, and held on tightly, attempting to subdue the monster. Black Muse was unaffected, and flailed his hand about to try and throw Cyborg off. The hybrid held on for dear life, managing to stay on, although getting very dizzy in the process. Before Black Muse could do anything else, a resounding "Azareth Metrion Zinthos!" echoed throughout the room. Black Muse turned around, and saw a very large boulder coming straight at him. Having neither the reflexes nor the agility to dodge, the boulder hit Black Muse head-on, knocking him back into the wall, causing Cyborg to fly out of his hand. While he was still recovering, Starfire threw a torrent of starbolts, each hitting their mark, triggering a chain reaction of explosions.

Robin leapt down from the wall, having recovered, a whipped out his Bo-staff, readying himself for an attack. Cyborg dusted himself off and joined him, bringing out his sonic cannon and aiming for the cloud of smoke where Black Muse had landed.

A giant explosion erupted, sending out balls of fire that bounced harmlessly off the walls. Black Muse went into a rage, jumping up and slamming his fists down into the ground, causing a reverberating tremor to course through the ground. Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Robin were knocked off their feet, but Raven and Starfire, whom were airborne, were unaffected.

Black Muse used the time in which his opponents were off guard to open his mouth and spew a volley of giant fireballs. Robin reacted in time to jump out of the way and into safety's humble arms. Beast Boy saw the attacks just in time to transform to an armadillo, the mammal's hard shell providing an ample defense. Cyborg, however, did not see the attack in time, and was scorched by the attack. He yelled out in pain, a good portion of his human parts having taken most of the heat.

Raven held her hands out and said, "Azareth Metrion Zinthos!" A large, black energy ball materialized and fired off towards Black Muse. The evil being saw the attack, and swung his arm around, deflecting his attack off of his arm and back towards Raven. The Azareth wasn't expecting this, and thus hit the attack head-on, flying back into the wall.

Robin saw the monster was distracted, and used to his advantage. Using his Bo-staff, he launched himself towards Black Muse with his foot outstretched, aiming for his head. Black Muse must have sensed it, for he ducked and rolled, making Robin's attack miss completely.

Beast Boy was pondering whether to help and make it look convincing, or to sit back and watch the Titans suffer. Fortunately, Black Muse chose for him. The monster saw the indolent Beast Boy and interpreted it as a time to attack. He thrust himself back into a crouching position and swing-kicked Beast Boy, his long legs allowing him to reach well beyond the latent changeling. Beast Boy was propelled into the wall and would have probably been knocked unconscious had Izevm's hegemony over his mind not prevented that from happening. Beast Boy recovered and transformed into a T-Rex. The changeling lowered his head and charged full speed at Black Muse. The agile abomination bounded up and grabbed onto the wall with his claws, sticking to it like a fly. Beast Boy jumped upwards in suite, transforming into an eagle at the zenith of the jump. Black Muse hopped from one side of the room to the other, with Beast Boy following him closely in flight. Right as Black Muse landed on the other wall and took a few seconds to recover from the aftershock of landing, Beast Boy soared by and used the eagle's talons to slash across the top of the beast's skull. Black Muse screeched in pain and clawed wildly in the air, trying to maul Beast Boy.

Beast Boy flew up as high as the ceiling would permit him, and stood there flapping his wings, taunting Black Muse. The fiend roared viciously and began clenching his fists. The green shape shifter paused, not knowing what to do. As Black Muse's skull began glowing red, Beast Boy realized that this wasn't good. When Black Muse unclenched his fists, a bright red light shot out from the palm of his hands, almost like a biological laser. Black Muse swept his hand upward, hitting Beast Boy directly with the laser. Beast Boy fell from the sky like a sack of potatoes, unconsciously reverting to his neutral form as he fell.

"Beast Boy!" Raven yelled, and flew over as soon as she could. "Azareth Metrion Zinthos!" she yelled, and a black hand formed, with which she used to grab Beast Boy and absorb almost all of the shock from the fall. She slowly released him and held him in her arms, looking for wounds.

"Guys, cover me!" Raven yelled. She waved her hand over Beast Boy, which glowed black as she did so. Beast Boy's eyes fluttered open as he regained consciousness.

"Man, that thing sure can pack a punch," Beast Boy said in a noticeably deeper voice as he rubbed his head.

Raven raised an eyebrow. "Beast Boy, why is you voice so much deeper?" she asked.

Beast Boy hesitated for a moment before saying, "Uh, I had something in the back of my throat?"

With that, he flew off. Raven looked at him, but then decided now wasn't the time for this.

'Shit, the merging spell is beginning to wear off. Both of out physical qualities are beginning to combine,' Izevm thought. Beast Boy snorted and replied, "Dude, there is no way you are getting my ability to shred guitar.'

'That's not a physical feature, you asshole.'

'Oh. What is it then?'

'I don't know, and I don't care. Right now, I have better things to do,' Izevm said. With that, he transformed into a falcon and began flying towards Black Muse.

Robin grabbed a handful of explosives and threw them at Black Muse. Before they made contact, the monster held out his hand. A large shield large enough to fully cover his entire figure materialized in his hand, fully decorated with the same symbols as the Titans saw throughout the cathedral. Black Muse held the shield in front of him, leaving no part uncovered. The explosives detonated harmlessly, not even denting the outsized shield. From behind the buffer, Black Muse grabbed one of the pillars and yanked it clear out of its foundation and used it as a makeshift sword, swinging it at Robin and Cyborg, whom happened to be standing near each other. Cyborg ducked while Robin jumped up and used the pillar as a springboard from which to attack Black Muse, diving headfirst towards the abomination. When Black Muse swung his shield upwards to block Robin off, the agile Titans used his Bo-staff to spring himself up and over the shield. Black Muse was not expecting Robin to be so lithe, and was thus unprepared when Robin came leaping over the barrier with his foot outstretched. His foot made contact with Black Muse's head, knocking him backward into another pillar. Upon hitting the column, a cascade of huge boulders and rocks fell from the ceiling, plummeting towards Black Muse. Robin saw the oncoming hail, and dove back while Black Muse was temporarily out of it.

"Titans, move back!" Robin yelled. The first wave of rocks hit the ground, pinning Black Muse to the floor. Another wave of boulders fell from the ceiling, covering all but the beast's head.

Black Muse roared in agony. Panting heavily, he managed to begin talking in a hugely distorted and deep voice.

"Not bad, my good Titans," the abomination wheezed, "not bad at all." Robin pointed his finger and said, "Who are you!?"

Black Muse coughed up a sticky black and gray substance. "I am the on they call Black Muse. Learn the name, my good Robin. Know it. Respect it. Fear it."

Robin groaned at the corniness of it all and yelled, "How do you know my name?"

Black Muse panted for a moment before answering, "My master knows all and tells all."

"Who is your master? Izevm?"

Black Muse laughed maliciously before coughing up more of the sticky black matter. "Fool! Izevm is but another pawn in my master's grand scheme. He is no more important than me. We are both but single pieces in a much larger puzzle."

Beast Boy scoffed and said, "I'm sure Izevm is much more important than that, since he's so powerful and all."

Black Muse spat at the ground, this time on purpose. "As if. That Izevm is the most delusional excuse for a person I have ever seen. It disgusts me to even look at his repulsive face. Not to mention his fighting skills are mediocre at best, and he acts like a wimp when he's down."

Beast Boy snorted, as if affronted.

Black Muse wheezed and said, "Another time, Robin."

With that, he coughed out a strain of inaudible words. Upon finishing, a large black and red portal appeared beneath him. He dove headfirst into the portal, eventually disappearing altogether. The portal shrunk, then diminished entirely.

Right when Black Muse disappeared, a large door behind the latent pile of rocks became visible. Its doors swung open, revealing –surprise!- another hallway.

Cyborg groaned and said, "See! This is exactly what I meant earlier. It's like the guy has some kind of hallway fetish or something."

As the team began walking on, Beast Boy turned his back to the others. He held out his right hand, in which a large knife materialized. Walking like a ghost up to Raven, whom was the nearest and had her back turned, he waited for the right moment, then pounced on her. Before she could react, he jumped, wrapped his legs around her waist, grabbed her throat with his left hand, and held the knife sideways against her throat.

"Nobody move!" Beast Boy yelled. The other Titans whipped around, shocked and speechless.

"Beast Boy! What the hell do you-" Raven yelled, before Beast Boy squeezed harder with his left hand, preventing her from talking.

"Beast Boy, what do you think you're doing!?" Robin yelled. Beast Boy grinned evilly and said, "Fulfilling my duties."

Cyborg began walking towards Beast Boy with his sonic cannon outstretched, saying, "BB, I don't know what's wrong with you, but-"

"Ah ah ah!" Beast Boy said, pressing the knife harder, cutting Cyborg off. Cyborg halted in his tracks.

Beast Boy opened his mouth to say something, but he abruptly began clawing away at his head, saying, "Stop! Get out of my head!"

He released Raven and fell to the floor, continuing to claw away at his head while ranting incoherently. Finally, he reached out to Raven and said, "Raven...you've...got...to...help...me...Izevm's ...taken ...over ...my mind...you have to kill me..."

Upon finishing, Izevm regained full control and stood up.

"Sorry about that," he said. Beast Boy then shape shifted into a bull. Snorting, he began charging full speed at Raven.

Raven's face was contorted with fury, almost as if something possessed her. As Beast Boy neared her, she grabbed him by the horns and used his forward momentum to throw him into the nearest wall, sending off a shower of gravel and smoke. Beast Boy recovered, transformed into a tiger, and leapt at Raven. The Azareth rolled and ducked, although Beast Boy's cat like agility allowed him to recover and leap again while Raven was still rolling. Thus, Raven was unprepared, and was slashed clean across the stomach as Beast Boy swiped his claw at her.

The other Titans stood there, not knowing what to do. It was a mixture of shock by Raven's astonishing behavior, shock at Izevm, and not wanting to hurt Beast Boy.

Raven yelled out in pain, which only escalated her fury even more. "Azareth Metrion Zinthos!" she yelled, plunging her fist into a section of the ground beneath her that was glowing black from her powers. Another black circle appeared under Beast Boy, and a shower of small but sharp black needles came shooting out from, each hitting their mark, causing Beast Boy to fly back from impact, reverting to his normal form as he flew.

Cyborg walked up to Raven, an astonished look on his face. "Raven, where'd you learn that?"

Raven opened her hands up and stared at her palms. I...I don't know. It was like something had taken over me and I couldn't stop it."

As Beast Boy laid bleeding, Cyborg and Raven could see a small, ethereal wisp leaving Beast Boy's body and rising up through the ceiling. Raven ignored it and ran next to the green shape shifter. She knelt down and held up Beast Boy's head with her hand.

"Raven?" he said softly. Beast Boy moved his head to the side and coughed up blood.

"Yeah?" she responded weakly, all of her rage and fury having disappeared. Raven touched his cheek softly as tears began streaming down her face.

"I love you," he said softly.

Raven began sobbing harder before she finally managed to say, "I love you too, Beast Boy."

"Raven?" he said softly.

"Yes?"

"How many times have I died now?"

Raven sniffed and wiped a few tears from her cheeks. "Three, Beast Boy."

Beast Boy didn't have the strength to respond. He could only nod, before his body became very cold and his chest stopped moving.

Raven broke down and began to weep uncontrollably. Robin walked over to her and placed a solacing hand on her shoulder. Raven put her head on his shoulder and cried.

It was then that Raven's sadness turned to rage. Her eyes glowed red as she got up, and her clenched fists were trembling.

"Izevm...I'll kill him!" she yelled, before taking off and flying with incredible speed through the huge doors. Robin sprinted after her with Starfire and Cyborg following, saying, "Raven! Wait!"

* * *

As Izevm returned to his room, he tried to think of a way not to upset the master, yet at the same time get help. He decided to just suck it up and face the master. The Azareth stood in front of the mirror, playing with his hair as he did so.

A red and black cloud appeared as the familiar face of his master appeared, looking very pissed.

"What is it now!?" the disembodied head yelled, very perturbed by the disturbance. Izevm fidgeted before saying, "Well, my lord, it seems Black Muse has failed, and to make matters worse, the Titans managed to...extract myself from the shape shifter's body, although sacrificing him in the process."

"WHAT!?" Izevm's master yelled with fury. "I practically deliver them into your hands! And you can only manage to get rid of one, which they did for you!"

Izevm bent down on one knee and said, "Please, Master, give me one last chance. I swear I can prove myself!"

The head snorted and said, "One last chance. But mark my words; if you fail me, there will be no tolerance! Understand?"

Izevm lowered his head and said, "Yes, master."

"Now when they get here, send some of the lower lackeys to take care of them, while you pick one of the weaker ones off to take some of the load away. Understand?"

"Yes, master."

"Good. Now get out of my sight."

* * *

Okay! Sorry the chapter was so short. My bad.

Everyone saw "Fractured" and "Aftershock" right? Fractured wasn't as good as I thought it would be, but the mouth scene was hilarious. Aftershock was a lot better, since Terra is now officially a sadistic psycho bitch villain. Not that she wasn't before, but now it's official. Muahaha

Anyways, this is Ozzy Anmudis signing out.


	20. A Beautiful Oblivion Part 6

Poor Twisted Me Chapter 20 

Hi again! I'm so sorry for the long wait, but my computer got a nasty virus and had to be sent away to be fixed. Nine days later, when it's fixed, I find that all of my documents, including the progress for this chapter, were completely gone. And updates from now on will probably take a lot longer, seeing as how high school just started for me, and I have cross-country practice every day except Sunday. Just a heads-up.

I think I'll stop answering reviews from now on, because its been getting really distracting the last few chapters. All right, and on with the story!

* * *

Izevm turned around and began walking for the door calmly, pulling his hood up as he went. Silently, he prayed to his Lord of Darkness for strength, something he customarily did before he fought.

His concentration was abruptly and violently interrupted when the towering, black obsidian doors in front of him swung open with incredible force, inches away from striking him in the face. The doors bounced off the walls, revealing Raven, livid and shaking from anger. Raven began walking forward, the doors shutting as she walked forward. Izevm calmly grinned from underneath his hood and said, "Raven, my Raven, how are you?"

Raven sneered and heatedly retorted, "Don't give me this bull crap!"

Izevm smirked tranquilly and replied, "My, aren't we testy, my sweet demoness? Well, I can imagine why. After all, I would be testy too, if I killed the person closest to me because my powers were becoming out of control."

Raven clasped her hands against her ears and screamed, "Stop it! Shut up!"

Izevm snorted and began pacing back and forth, continuing, "I mean, I perfectly sympathize with you. It is, in any case, simple to hear the term 'a broken heart'. But it's a whole different matter when your dearest friend is brutally slaughtered at your own hands. Where your heart is, it must almost feel like...there's something missing. It's broken, isn't it?"

Raven fell to her knees and clamped her hands harder against her head, yelling, "Stop it! You don't know what you're talking about!"

The evil Azareth merely grinned wider. "Yes, wouldn't it be great to just...end the pain? End it all? What a coincidence! I can have that arranged right now..." he trailed his last sentence for dramatic effect, and began approaching Raven. He started to stretch out his right hand, but before he could do anything else, a powerful, vicious burst of black energy exploded from where Raven was, expanding to magnanimous proportions as it licked menacingly at the astonished Izevm. Izevm reflexively jumped back as the inferno of energy amplified in size, until Raven rose, her eyes red and face distorted with anger. As Raven began walking towards him, Izevm slowly backed away, until his back bumped against the wall. With a raspy and chilling roar, she threw a punch as hard as she could at Izevm. He dodged nimbly to the side, causing Raven's attack to sail past him and connect with the wall, creating a massive hole. Izevm raised his leg to kick Raven, but before he knew had happened, a huge burst of black energy had hit him clear in the stomach. The blast of energy exploded on contact, releasing a giant cloud of smoke and debris. Raven unexpectedly snapped out of her heated trance, leaving her concerned about her control.

'_Why is this happening? I got rid of Rage years ago...I should have my emotions under control..._' Raven ruminated to herself. She looked at her hands tentatively.

'_Why was I never able to fight like that before?_'

When the smoke cleared, Izevm was clutching a large gash in his side. His clothes were torn and tattered from the blast, but he seemed otherwise unharmed. With a growl and a wave of his hand, the wound shrank and disappeared. He eyes narrowed and he leered hatefully at Raven.

Izevm abruptly flew up, becoming airborne, and held his hands out in front of him. A large bubble of black energy materialized, swelling with each passing second. Raven crossed her arms in front of her head, bracing for the attack. Izevm drew his arm back, about to attack, when an emerald blast knocked him from the sky. Raven turned around and saw Starfire, Robin, and Cyborg standing in the doorway. She tried to smile, but for some reason her lips stayed at a standstill.

Izevm roared with frustration, then hesitated for a moment. Grinning wickedly, he pointed his palms towards a section of the floor in front of him. A dull gray cloud of smoke appeared from his palms and began floating indolently towards a part of the floor. Upon making contact with the stone floor, it formed a perfect circle about ten feet across. The circle of gas settled into the floor, and altered into a blazing red portal with green flames that licked at the Titans' feet. A huge, skeletal hand shot out from the gateway, grabbing onto the floor with its extensive claws and pulling itself out. A familiar looking head popped out, revealing the grotesque body of none other than Black Muse.

The evil creature grinned maliciously and pulled the rest of itself out, crouching slightly so it wouldn't break through the roof with its head. It lowered its head to the Titans level and roared in its usual raspy and demonic voice.

"Muse, take care of them, will you?" Izevm said cockily. Smirking, he walked up another flight of stairs in the back of the room. Muse scoffed and said, "Bitch."

Raven had had enough. Growling in a voice unlike her own, she flew after Izevm with vehement speed.

"Hey!" Cyborg yelled, starting to run after her. Robin held up his arm and said, "No, let her take care of him."

Black Muse held out his right hand, in which an elongated scythe materialized. Grabbing it with both his hands, he threw it at Robin. The scythe swung in a sharp arc, almost like a boomerang. The masked leader ducked, which made the scythe sail past him and stick to the wall. Robin looked back and saw Black Muse running towards him, head lowered like a bull. Robin skillfully grabbed Black Muse by his tusks, impeding any attack. Black Muse growled and threw his head back, lifting Robin up off the ground and into the air. With one swift and almost fluid motion, Black Muse swatted Robin with the back of his hand. The masked leader plummeted to the floor, but his fall was stopped short as Starfire flew up and grabbed him mid-fall. The scythe stuck in the wall moved suddenly, and flew back to Black Muse's open palm, evidently summoned by the abomination.

Cyborg dove towards the indolent Muse and grabbed the heel of his foot, using his prodigious strength to pull the monster's leg upward and knock him off balance. Black Muse swung his arms wildly, trying to regain his balance, knocking chunks of concrete and marble off of the walls. Starfire let Robin down and fired a barrage of starbolts at Black Muse, one hitting him right in the chest, knocking him back into the wall. A cloud of debris scattered about the room, blinding the Titans. When the smoke cleared, Black Muse was back on his feet, holding his scythe. With a ferocious roar, Black Muse swung the scythe upward and sliced a diving line separating him and his adversaries in the ground, from which a giant inferno sprang. The blaze towered against the Titans, impeding any passage at all. Black Muse's eerie skull slowly moved through the fire, the flames lapping against his head but not damaging it. The monstrosity grinned evilly, and raised its scythe.

* * *

"Izevm!" Raven yelled as she flew after her enemy. The evil Azareth calmly looked back and took to the air, facing her as her glided above the stairs. Raven snarled and picked up more speed, but Izevm continued to taunt her. She was about ready to explode when the stairs abruptly led into a gargantuan room, easily five stories tall, decorated with various weapons. A large mirror leaned against the back wall of the room, lavishly adorned with designs and glistening metals.

Raven looked around the room for Izevm, but strangely, he wasn't there anymore. Instinctively she looked up, and saw Izevm hurtling towards her with a spear in his hand, outstretched. Raven adroitly grabbed the spear before it hit her and yanked it towards herself, causing Izevm to lose his balance and fall. Raven swung her foot upward, nailing him straight in the face and causing him to fly backwards and hit the wall. Before he could recover, Raven threw the spear at him with incredible force. The spear missed Izevm, however, and caught his cloak instead, pinning him to the wall. Swiftly, she grabbed a sword resting on a nearby rack and held it against Izevm's throat.

Izevm laughed. He spit out blood and said, "You know, Raven, it's funny. You always keep your rage and hatred in check, but when you finally release it, you find power that you never knew you had. Doubting yourself?"

Grimacing, she ignored him and quietly said, "Don't move."

Izevm snorted and said, "Or what? You'll kill me? Well, why don't we see what your father has to say about that."

Raven was perplexed. "_My father? What does he mean, my father?_'

Izevm grinned and held an open palm to the mirror opposite from him He took a deep breath and said, "Trigon, my lord and master, give me the strength I need to defeat her!"

A deep blue cloud of smoke appeared in the mirror, swirling around indolently. Raven watched, mystified. The cloud of smoke suddenly dissipated, revealing the head of none other than her father, Trigon.

Raven gasped in astonishment. Trigon looked down crossly at Izevm, and in a distorted and booming voice, said, "Izevm, you remember very well what I said would happen if you did not succeed. I will not tolerate failure anymore!"

A bolt of blue lightning shot out from the mirror, shooting impetuously towards Izevm. Raven yelped and jumped out of the way. The bolt hit Izevm directly in his chest, pumping him full of electricity. Izevm screamed in pain as his body began convulsing from the sheer force of the attack. His arm began twitching wildly, until his body stopped moving completely, drained of his life.

Raven stared in disbelief at the mirror as it began glowing dark red and began to shake. A red hand the size of a Buick reached out from the portal, grabbing onto the walls to pull the rest of the body out. Trigon finally materialized fully and stood his full height. He was without doubt the size of an average house, covered with muscles and adorned with snow-white hair. He groaned, cracked his back, and said, "Finally, I am out of that cursed place."

Raven held a hand to her chest and gasped softly. Never did she expect that her father would be involved with this.

Trigon shifted his four eyes to Raven and chuckled softly. "Surprised? Understandably so, my daughter. It all started a few months ago after you and your accursed friends disposed of me. In my blind fury, I sought a way to get my revenge on you and your pitiful friends. I eventually stumbled upon a sorcerer by the name of Silenoz. I asked his help in getting vengeance, and he agreed, on the condition that I would return the favor someday. I agreed, not intending to actually keep my promise."

"Unfortunately, Silenoz was gifted with the power of mind-reading, and in his vehemence, he sealed me shut in an alternate dimension, with that mirror as my only means of communicating with any outside world. That place was what hell only wished it could be; black flames that would burn you alive but never kill you, beasts so vile and wretched that words cannot describe their depravity, and worst of all, the only sound you could hear of your own tortured cries was _non-stop Barbara Streisand_!"

"After about a month in there, my desire to escape had reached its threshold. Then, in my darkest hour, that fool Izevm had the lack of common sense to stumble upon my mirror. Thinking quickly, I convinced him to help me escape, intending to kill him once he had served his purpose. See, after that first month went by a managed to find a loophole that could get me out of there. If I did something despicable enough that I was too evil for this place, I would be rejected. What better way to do that than kill one of my own servants? In exchange for helping me, I promised him all the riches in the world, once again not intending to keep my word."

"Then it occurred to me that I could kill two birds with one stone. I could offer Izevm all of Earth, and in the process, he could dispose of you and your pesky team. To help him, I created a few servants to assist him, including Black Muse."

Trigon extended his arms out and cackled malevolently. "And now, with Izevm dead and your friends trembling at their knees, I can merge Azareth and Earth together, and rule both worlds!"

With that, he clapped his hands together with great force. A giant wave of white light erupted from his hands, enveloping everything in sight. Raven yelled and began running, but she had not even made it to the door before the white luminescence had engulfed her, tearing her consciousness away from her.

* * *

"Robin! I can't hold him off much longer!" Cyborg yelled, blindly firing off into the inferno in hopes of hitting Black Muse. Robin grabbed a handful of explosives, but before he could do anything, a violent shockwave shook the floor, quavering with extreme intensity.

The giant inferno disappeared, revealing Black Muse at a standstill. He looked up towards the ceiling and grinned.

"The hour draws near," he said portentously. Chuckling, he waved at the Titans and said, "Farewell, Titans. I will see you again soon."

Upon finishing, he took his scythe and made a tearing motion in the air. A giant portal appeared, much like the one he came out of. With a wave of his bony hand, he jumped into the gateway and disappeared.

Cyborg gave Robin a funny look. Robin shrugged and said, "Your guess is as good as mine."

Starfire opened her mouth to say something, but a scream escaped her lips instead. Robin looked at her, and saw a colossal wave of light swallowing the room up. He turned to run, but he found his legs vanishing as the wave of light slowly engulfed him entirely.

* * *

A gentle wind softly grazed Raven's ear, pulling her back into reality. As she slowly tried to get to her knees, a sharp pain coursed through her head.

"Ow!" she yelled reflexively. She looked up to see where she was, and was shocked by her surroundings.

It looked as if she was sitting in pure nothingness; all she could see was a simple white color embodying everything. There were no hills, grass, or any terrain at all. At first glance, it looked and felt like utter oblivion.

As she tried to comprehend what had happened or where she was, a soft voice echoed throughout the void, saying, "Long time no see, Raven."

The Azareth turned around, and to her complete surprise, she saw her mentor and guardian as a child, Azar.

(A/n: If anyone wants/needs to know who Azar is, just email me and I'll explain. It'll make a lot more sense that way)

Raven gasped as Azar walked over and gingerly stroked her hair. "My, how you've grown, Raven."

Raven softly said, "Azar, where are we?"

Raven's former mentor gestured around her. "In your head, dear. I just had to step in after what your father did."

"But, I thought you were dead!"

The pacifist nodded her head softly. "Yes, I am. But when I died, I entered another plane of existence, from which I watched you. Up until now, I had never interfered with your life at all. But now, this is so much deeper. Your father is messing with forces he doesn't fully comprehend, and if he isn't stopped, there's no telling how much death he could cause."

Raven lowered her head dejectedly and pulled her knees towards her "Yeah, but what can I do about it? He's stronger and more powerful than me," she stated sadly.

Azar shook her head. "Raven, fighting him is not the answer here. I thought you learned that."

Raven began to get frustrated. She turned away and sarcastically said, "Oh yeah, maybe I can talk him out of destroying everything I know and love. That always worked."

"Raven, you have always had your emotions in check. Don't let them take over your actions."

Raven's eyes began to well with tears. "Azar, he caused an entire city to be destroyed! He caused the person closest to me die, while I stood by and watched. For all I know, he's killed my other friends as well. Why can't I become emotional!?"

Azar sighed. "Be that way if you wish, Raven. You'll understand my advice when the time comes."

Raven sniffled and wiped tears from her eyes. "Just wake me back up."

The pacifist looked at Raven sympathetically. "Of course. You won't like what you'll see, however."

With a wave of Azar's hand, the colorless oblivion that surrounded her began to distort and twist, until all Raven could see was black.

* * *

"Raven! Raven, wake up!" Robin's voice pierced through her head like an arrow. Raven's eyes shot open, snapping her back to reality. Standing around her were Starfire, Robin, and Cyborg.

She bolted upright and jumped to her feet. "Where's Trigon?!" she yelled with a slight tone of anger.

Raven's eyes darted back and forth until her surroundings began to seep in. She gasped softly.

The city was even more grotesquely distorted than when Izevm had transformed it. The buildings, if you could call them that, seemed to waver back and forth, as if they were alive. Blotchy red and black spots covered them and they stood at uneven angles. The roads lurched up and down softly, almost like there was a constant earthquake. Raven looked up and saw a burning red sky, dotted with stars and two moons. Monsters scattered the horizon and roamed the streets around them.

Starfire waked over to Raven quietly, her eyes brimming with tears. "Raven, what has become of our home? Who has done this?"

Raven lowered her head solemnly and said, "My father. He is to blame for all of this."

Robin's head snapped up. "Your father?"

Raven nodded. "My father, Trigon, was a demon, who was sadistic and power-hungry. Well, he got his wish."

Raven was about to continue, when a sudden jolt went through her head. She yelled, "Guys! Get down!"

The three reflexively dove into a corner of a building, while Raven quietly whispered, "Azareth Metrion Zinthos." A flat white blanket of light covered her and her friends, blending in with their surroundings, making them invisible.

A creature slowly walked by, scouting the area for anything out of the ordinary. It must have been a minion of Trigon, for it bore the same symbol the Titans had seen around the cathedral. It was strangely humanoid, save its pig-like face and snout. It was strangely reminiscent of a KISS concert's reject, clad in leather armor with spikes jutting out from the shoulder and knee pieces. Its face, the only part not covered in armor, was painted white with tribal tattoos embossed in black. In its right hand it clasped an elongated mace, with jagged and uneven spikes protruding from the spherical top. It stopped for a moment, and sniffed the air, searching for intruders.

Raven held her breath. Robin clamped his fist over Starfire's mouth to keep her from screaming. The creature looked around for a moment, then tentatively walked over to the spot where the Titans hid. It drew closer and closer, until its snout was only inches away from Raven's face. Raven was about to explode from lack of oxygen.

The creature abruptly turned and began walking away. Raven breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Big mistake.

The creature snapped around and roared. With a wave of its hand, Raven's barrier was disintegrated, revealing the Titans. The creature snorted and charged, lowering its head. Raven reflexively screamed and threw out her hand. A torrent of black needles erupted from her hand, impaling the creature.

The pig-like being squealed from pain, and slumped to the ground, in shock from the pain. Raven sighed and pulled her hood up. Robin looked at her and said, "Raven, where'd you learn to fight like that?"

Raven lowered her head and said, "I...I don't know. I was never able to fight like this before. I'm beginning to doubt myself."

Starfire interrupted and said, "Um, this is all fine, but how do we restore our home?"

Raven ignored her and walked on.

"Raven?"

"I don't know, Starfire. I don't know."

* * *


	21. A Beautiful Oblivion Part 7

**Poor Twisted Me Chapter 21**

Cyborg paced back and forth. "So, what you're saying is, you have no idea how we can get everything back to normal?"

Raven yelled with frustration and said, "Why does it always have to be me with the solution!? Why can't someone else do it?!"

In the far distance, a small explosion could be heard. Cyborg recoiled and apologetically said, "Sorry!"

Raven said nothing, merely turned away.

Robin looked up and said, "Hey, I think I have an idea. Maybe instead of having to walk around looking for Trigon, we can just fly up and look for him from the air."

Raven replied, "What difference will that make?"

"Well, if we're in the air, then we'll be able to see the huge castle you _know_ he has."

Raven gave Robin a funny look. "What makes you so sure he'll be in a huge castle?"

Robin smiled and said, "I was Batman's apprentice for years. I know bad guys inside out, and if there's one thing that they enjoy more than anything else, it's flattering themselves. Besides, Izevm did the same thing."

Raven shook her head. "Yeah, but if we take to the skies, then we'll be easy target."

"We would, but not if they can't see us. You know how to cloak, right Raven? Then just do that."

Raven sighed. "Fine. I guess we could try."

Raven moved her hands in front of her, palms facing out, and muttered, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos."

A soft, white light spread out from her hands, and covered each of the Titans in a white bubble that conformed to their skin perfectly. It radiated a soft, almost holy white light. Starfire looked at her arm and gingerly touched it. A small, white sandy substance rubbed off onto her fingers.

Raven shook her head and said, "No, Star, don't do that. That substance is what keeps you concealed. Keep it on."

Starfire shrunk back. "Oh. My bad."

Raven turned away and grabbed Robin by the armpits, pulling him up as she became airborne. Starfire followed suite and picked Cyborg up, flying after Raven. The group steadily rose until they were above the buildings. Raven leveled her flight upon surpassing the top of buildings. To her surprise, a large, lavishly decorated palace rested far off in the horizon.

Robin grinned. "See? What did I tell you?"

Raven rolled her eyes and flew towards the palace.

* * *

After an unspecified amount of time, Raven and the others found themselves facing a monstrous ironclad door. The door was plain, unlike the cathedral, with but a simple doorknocker adorning the center. Starfire stepped forward to open the door, but Raven grabbed her by the arm and shook her head.

"Star, we can't afford to be seen or heard at all. We have to keep a low-profile, okay?" Raven whispered quietly. Starfire nodded softly.

Raven tentatively touched the door and pressed her ear against it. She silently whispered "Azarath Metrion Zinthos"

A small, black hole of sorts appeared in the door, allowing the Titans to see past it and into the palace itself. Inside, they could see a giant throne adorning the middle of a spacious room. Trigon was walking quietly beside it, looking tired

Trigon shuffled over to the throne and slumped down. He appeared physically and mentally exhausted. A diligent servant who looked like Black Muse and couldn't have been any more than four feet tall, walked up next to Trigon. He was clad in luxurious blue and red robes, with Trigon's symbol painted in gold on the back. The servant fidgeted with his bony hands as he walked, and in a throaty and surprisingly aristocratic voice, said, "Master, why are you so fatigued?"

Trigon sighed and slouched over. "It's just one of the downsides of raining down fire and brimstone and slaying an entire world. Ktulu, mass genocide is the hardest physical activity one can partake in, next to soccer."

The creature, whose name evidently was Ktulu, waved his hands gracefully and conjured up a bottle of tequila. Trigon bent over and grabbed the bottle, throwing the entire thing, glass and all, down his throat.

Trigon shook his head. "You know, it's a real shame I destroyed all of humanity. They can make damn good drinks."

Ktulu nodded with poise and said, "I agree, sir. It is a shame their brewery skills far surpass their usefulness."

Trigon smiled. "You know, I like you. You're a hell of a lot better than that stupid Izevm."

Ktulu nodded his head charismatically. "Thank you, sir."

Raven pressed her ears closer to the door, only to be answered by a loud, thunderous explosion behind her. She whipped around reflexively, and saw a huge path of green fire that smoldered in front of them. A huge, skinless hand reached out from the pit, pulling itself out and revealing –surprise!- Black Muse.

Raven closed off the hole and turned to face Black Muse completely. The skeletal creature grinned maliciously, baring its pasty tusks in their entirety. In his right hand he held another scythe, this one stubbier and coated with miniature spikes that descended its entire staff. He leapt up onto the top of a building that lay off to the side and crouched down, its grotesque head lowered below its knees. Cyborg grimaced and aimed his sonic cannon at the beast. Black Muse merely grinned and threw the scythe like a boomerang, twirling around in an oval trajectory. Cyborg dove to the ground and covered his head as the scythe sailed past by him and flew in a circular loop back to Black Muse. The creature grabbed it as it flew, jumping down from the building as he made contact with it.

Robin reached into his belt and pulled out a handful of explosives, throwing them forcefully at his airborne target. They detonated on touch, releasing a veil of fire and gas. But Black Muse was unaffected, and sliced right through the cloud and landed on the ground nimbly. He raised his scythe upward and struck the ground with the butt of the weapon. Where the scythe hit the ground, it spilt the land into a cavernous chasm, from which a tower of flames erupted. The abyss slowly grew until it had made a full circle around the Titans, confining them within the inferno.

Raven growled and took the air, Starfire following closely behind. But as soon as she began to take off, an unseen force kept her glued to the ground. She turned her head around and saw a huge pair of hands that sprouted from the ground, each the size of a minivan, wrapped around her, impeding her flight. The hands were see-through, almost intangible, until they rose out the ground, followed by a head, arms, then an entire body. Raven struggled to see who her captor was, but by contorting her head a certain way, she could see it. Her subjugator was a huge entity, very close to the size of her father. The creature was almost angelic, with beautiful wings shooting from a humanoid body. It radiated a white light and was nearly transparent, its blue and red gown the only completely opaque thing about it. The creature sported long, flowing black hair and a Mephistophelean beard coated his pale face. At first glance, a pure and uncorrupted creature, but Raven glanced south and saw a malevolent sword hanging from a tight belt that wrapped itself around the creature's waist. The sword seemed to almost radiate evil, polar opposite of its owner. It was ablaze with a seemingly biblical green fire, clad in a jet-black hilt coated with various gems, with the symbol of Trigon emblazoned in the tip of the blade. The creature shifted its glare to Raven, which sent a menacing shiver down her spine. Its black and gray, yet strangely empty eyes seemed to exude a feeling of futility, as if once he set his glare on you, there was no hope left. Raven struggled against the creature's obstinate grip, but the beast merely growled and flew up higher. With one hand he bragged Raven by her waist, twisted his arm back behind him, and threw her at the ground with all his might.

Raven plummeted with such mind-blowing speed that neither she nor her friends saw her fall. All that was visible was a blur. She yelled three words out of reflex. In response, a tight black bubble covered her, granting its protection just in time. She hit the ground with such force that she was embedded below the surface, a crater towering above her. The bubble disappeared. Raven growled, and flew out of the crater.

Her friends weren't having much luck either. While she had been fighting with the unnamed creature, Black Muse had been systematically crushing each of her friends. With a laugh and a swing of his hand, he sent Starfire flying into a building, a cloud of debris and rubble emitting from where she had landed. Cyborg yelled with fury and grabbed onto Black Muse's foot, although his grip could barely grasp the circumference of his enemy's ankle. Robin followed suit, firing off his grappling hook into Muse's opposite foot. The utility sailed with great accuracy until it hit its mark and latched onto Muse's Achilles heel. Robin grabbed the steel cable from the tool and pulled it with all of his might, bringing Muse's feet together and knocking the monster off balance. Robin and Cyborg tied Muse's feet together as fast as they could, before the monster recovered. Black Muse roared with frustration and tried to break the cable, but it was too strong. Robin and Cyborg grinned and exchanged hi-fives.

Their victory was short-lived, however, as the anonymous creature that attacked Raven came flying towards them from its previous place in the sky. Cyborg fired off a round of his sonic cannon, but the creature merely deflected them with his sword. The beast landed forcefully onto the ground and stood up in his entirety, towering well above the other buildings. It glared at the two Titans, its black-gray eyes penetrating their being, like they were staring into their very souls. Robin found himself lost, almost hypnotized, by the creature's stare. Cyborg, with his one bionic eye, was immune to the spellbinding tricks of the abominations eyes, and was confused by Robin's captivated state. He pushed Robin on the shoulder and said, "Robin! Wake up!"

The masked leader snapped out of his condition. The angelic monster roared again and raised its sword up above its head, preparing to strike. Cyborg pushed Robin out of the way and rolled to the side, the sword nicking him in the side and singing him slightly as he dodged. The monster growled and kicked at Cyborg, his monstrous foot nailing the hybrid head on. Cyborg flew into a wall, only half-conscious from the blow.

The anonymous creature grinned and raised its fiery sword at the latent Cyborg, but was interrupted as a volley of starbolts struck him in the back, knocking him off balance and causing him to drop his weapon. Before the monster could react, Starfire had rammed him in the back with her shoulder, knocking him askew. The creature teetered on one leg, trying to restrain stability. Robin got up from the ground and seized the opportunity to whip out his Bo-staff. Running towards the falling creature, he twirled the staff and swept it upward against the monster's leg, whacking him off his remaining foot and into a nearby building.

Robin sighed for a moment, and leaned against a nearby building to catch his breath. Starfire lowered herself from the sky, panting. In between breaths, she said, "Did...we...win?"

Robin nodded breathlessly. "I...think...so..."

Unbeknownst to them, Black Muse had grabbed his scythe and had begun to hack away at the cable that bonded his legs together. With one last laceration, the cable snapped, freeing him. Muse grinned and charged head-on at Robin and Starfire, still undetected. Before they could react, he had swept the butt of his scythe up, sending them flying into the air. In one swift and fluid motion, he swatted them like flies into a close by edifice.

Raven had been watching all of this; all while her anger had slowly been rising. When Black Muse had gotten free, she could take it no more. In a voice unlike her own, she screamed, "Stop it!"

Black Muse and his angelic assistant watched as Raven's eyes violently flared red, and a cloud of dark energy began to swell around her, growing and growing. Black Muse could take it no longer and, with a yell, charged at her, scythe extended. The beatific monster followed after, picking up its fiery sword. Raven screamed again as the energy exploded outward, hitting the two malevolent beings straight on. The energy engulfed them, spinning them around in their volume, all the while slowly disintegrating them. Raven abruptly snapped out of her trance, and as she did so, the sphere of energy dissipated with it. The two monsters fell to the ground, apparently dead.

Raven panted with utter exhaustion. Flying slowly over the area, she gathered her unconscious friends and laid them side-by-side, grateful they were still alive. She held her hands out in front of her, preparing to heal them, when she heard a loud clapping behind her. She whipped around and saw her father clapping, a spiteful grin on his face. Ktulu stood next to him, perched atop yet another building.

Trigon laughed softly and said, "Very well done, my daughter. You've managed to dispose of my two best servants. Very well done indeed."

Raven growled and retorted, "Stop calling my that! As far as I'm concerned, I have no father!"

Trigon made his lower lip quiver in a false expression of sadness. His mouth then split into a wide grin, and he laughed again.

Raven clenched her fists in anger. "Stop it! I hate you!"

Ktulu interrupted and said, "Master, please allow me to dispose of her. She is well within the sphere of my control."

Trigon shook his head and said, "No, let me deal with her. You're dismissed, Ktulu."

Ktulu sighed and disappeared. Raven growled again and flew towards her father, her common sense blinded by her rage. Trigon snickered and swatted Raven off, sending her crashing into the ground. Raven got up quickly, her eyes flaring red again as her rage began to slip away from her control again.

Trigon smiled as he felt a new surge of power course through his muscles. Raven yelled again and fired off a round of dark energy aimed at Trigon. The demon merely opened his chest and absorbed the shots.

Raven yelled again, anger having completely taken over her. But it was in this time of blindness, that it hit her.

_"Fighting is not the answer, Raven," Azar sternly said as she shook her head. "I thought you knew that."_

Raven then realized it. _'His power comes from my hatred!'_

Trigon laughed and said, "Come on, Raven! Fight me!"

With a calm and composed tone, Raven said, "I will not fight you, Trigon. I refuse to."

Trigon stared at her blankly. "What?"

"I said I refuse to fight you."

Trigon roared ferociously. "Fight me, damn it!"

Raven sat down and began to meditate, calmly chanting, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos, Azarath Metrion Zinthos..."

Trigon screamed and charged at his daughter. But with each passing step, his towering height began to diminish, and by the time he reached Raven, he stood no higher than a blade of grass. With a final yell, he screamed, "I'll get you, Raven!"

With that, he disappeared from sight. Raven sighed with relief.

All of a sudden, a giant wave of white light erupted from where Trigon had previously been. It grew and expanded until it had engulfed everything in Raven's sight.

* * *

"Raven?" a soft voice whispered into Raven's ear. The Azarath's eyes softly fluttered open, revealing a similar white oblivion. As she had expected, Azar stood above her, beaming.

Raven smiled and got up. Azar laughed and threw her arms around Raven, saying, "I'm so proud of you!"

Raven smiled softly and hugged Azar back. The two parted, a huge smile still plastered onto Azar's face. Raven's mentor laughed again and said, "See? I told you that you would understand my advice when the time comes!"

Raven nodded and replied, "Yeah, I know. I'm sorry I was so mean when we last talked. I suppose I should have been more attentive, seeing as how you contacted me from the dead and all."

Azar placed a hand on Raven's shoulder and said, "Think nothing of it, my child! I'm just glad you came around."

Raven grinned again. With a wave of Azar's hand, Raven's sight began to blur and distort yet again.

* * *

Raven awoke with a start and jolted up in the air. She found herself lying on a hill outside the park, a few sparse grass stains on her cloak. Robin, Cyborg, and Starfire lay next to them, most likely still unconscious or asleep. She gently nudged each one of them awake, making sure they were okay. When she took a moment to look at her surroundings, she was greatly relieved to see everything back to normal. The park off in the distance was filled with families enjoying a normal Saturday afternoon. Or, what they thought was a normal Saturday afternoon. Titans Tower lay where it always had, perfectly intact. The buildings were normal, and everything was back to where it had been.

Starfire rubbed her head as she awoke. "Where...what happened?"

Raven smiled and said, "We won, Starfire. We beat Trigon and now everything is back to normal."

Starfire looked at Raven with hope in her eyes. "That is great, Raven! Finally, out home is back to normal!"

Robin stirred up from his sleep, and took in his surroundings. Grinning, he let out a huge sigh of relief. "Man, am I glad that's over with."

Cyborg groaned and said, "Meh...just five more minutes...stupid alarm..."

Raven rolled her eyes. She turned to the side, and to her absolute joy, she saw Beast Boy sitting off to the side.

"Beast Boy!" she yelled ecstatically. The shape-shifter turned lazily to her, as if he had just woken up. The Azarath ran over to him and pressed her lips against his, feeling joy in its most pure form. As she broke the kiss, Beast Boy gave her a funny look and said, "What was that for?"

Raven looked at him softly and said, "You died, Beast Boy. Izevm killed you."

She buried her head into his chest, and cried, blissfully happy he was back. Beast Boy's eyes widened, as he said, "I died?"

Robin nodded. Beast Boy grunted and said, "Damn it! Not again!"

Cyborg jolted from his slumber. "Hey, if BB's fine, then that means..."

Without another word, he sprinted as fast as he could towards Titans Tower. The others followed, barely managing to keep up. He threw the doors open, sending off a loud echo against the walls of the Tower. He flew up the stairs and ran into the living room, but stopped in his tracks when he got to the kitchen. Raven and the other had just caught up, and gasped. Starfire whispered, "Oh my..."

Carmen's head lay against the kitchen counter, a crimson liquid flowing freely. Cyborg fell to his knees, devastated.

But to everyone's great surprise, Carmen stirred and opened her eyes. Cyborg stared at her, mouth agape.

Carmen was confused by the strange looks, but then shifted her eyes to the liquid. She chuckled slightly and said, "Oh, sorry Cy. I must have fallen asleep and spilled some juice. I can clean that up."

She motioned to an empty cup in her hand. Cyborg didn't say anything. He merely walked over to Carmen and embraced her. Carmen giggled and said, "Cyborg, you're acting like I had just come back from the dead."

Raven smiled and said, "Actually, funny you should mention that..."

* * *

Woohoo! The first act is done! Now only two more to go. Unless I decide to have a fourth act, which I have been considering lately. And since I felt kind of bad about not having a lot of romance in these last few chapters, I decided to make all of the second act romance and humor. How's that?

Okay, you all saw "Spellbound", right? If you didn't you suck. It was definitely my favorite one yet. Since Raven is my favorite character, I was just happy to begin with. Raven hugged BB...hella awesome. But the main reason I liked it was because it revealed so much of Raven...not to mention the fact that she got romantically involved with a book. Creepy...

Ah, what the hell, I go ahead and do review replies. Just cause I love you guys so much and it's the end of the first act and...ah forget it.

ScarletAngel68- Jesus Christ monkey balls, your reviews are long. Umm, I'll try to respond to all of it, but I'm only human. Give me a break, god dammit! Hah, we talked for like two hours while you were reviewing. That was fun, wasn't it? Yeah, insane Raven is hella awesome, but she can't be insane all the time, because then Beast Boy's in trouble. Hey, he's alive now, too! Time to celebrate! Umm, I don't know why all of the villains say 'farewell'. I guess they have to, because they're all conformists and they're bad and conformity is bad. Dammit, I'm, ranting again. Actually, I think I might have Silenoz make an appearance in the third arc. KISS, heh. Pure last-minute stuff.

Mrs. Myxztipik- Hey, I know. I hate it when stories aren't updated in a while. So, I made sure to update extra fast this time around. Well, this wasn't really ultra fast. Uh...I got nothing.

Bold Achilles- Yeah, I'm glad a lot of people didn't see Trigon. Makes me happy to manipulate people And thank you! I'm glad to see I'm not the only one thinks that Kurt Cobain didn't kill himself. Stupid Courtney Love. Die! Die! Die you stupid disgrace! Oh, I mean her, not you.

Daeren Ryft- Hah! There you go! Happy ending!

Moezy-chan- well, don't wait! Here it is!

Kestrel- Thank you! And don't worry about update time, it can get pretty erratic. Like now.

Cd lover- That's okay, I don't really care whether you review or not, as long as you like it. Hey, Beast Boy's back! There, you can be happy now.

PrincessCat- Well, I used Barbara Streisand 'cause I don't like her. Hee.

Soraoathkeeper- thank you! I always have enjoyed writing the fight scenes he most. They just seem to flow off of my fingers...Uh, anyways. Yeah, black needles are cool! And crazy Raven is cool too, but only until she gets sane and becomes normal Raven again.

Snea- Thanks a bunch! Aw, sorry you were in the hospital. Well, here's your 'get better' present!

Twin-Lupus- hey, I didn't know you had an account. Thanks! I guess everyone likes my fight scenes...it's a curse, really. Wait a minute...what the hell am I saying? It kicks ass!


	22. The Sigma Enigma Part 1

**Poor Twisted Me Chapter 22**

It had been two months since Raven defeated Trigon, thus ridding herself of the "impurity". With crime in a slump, and nothing left to do, the Titans have learned to focus on the much more important aspects of life: each other.

Upon defeating Trigon, the Titans searched the city for anything out of place. To their surprise, they found neither hide nor hair of Izevm. Seeing Raven's worried look, Beast Boy embraced her; whispered in her ear, and said, "Don't worry. He won't come back." Lyrim's body was found outside of Titans Tower, near a rock outcropping. The Titans could come up with no logical conclusion to this.

Fallen Cherub had grown a sizable fan base, thanks to a Gotham radio station that played an underground myriad of metal's darker side. Ben had also harnessed control of his abilities, and brought up the possibility of using them during a concert, if they ever got to play at one. Bobbo had dropped his juvenile nickname, and was now perfectly happy with Rob. Dave had apparently hooked up with a girl he met at a Six Feet Under concert, but was being very secretive about it, for some reason. And Beast Boy…was Beast Boy.

Carmen, tired of living in a poor shack next to bunch of rednecks, had moved into her friend Kate Anderson's house, whom lived on the outskirts of the city and had a fairly large home. To Cyborg's delight, it was only a few blocks from Titans Tower, a much bigger improvement from her previous residence. However, after busting up her chest pretty badly at a nearby skate park, nearly breaking a rib, she decided to quit skateboarding and look for a job. That wasn't going to well, since people didn't seem too eager to hire a person with nothing on her resume at all.

The curtains have closed on the first act. Let the second act commence.

* * *

Raven glanced at her alarm clock. The red neon numbers spelled out "7:45 AM".

She groaned and turned over in her sleep, fruitlessly trying to squeeze in a few extra minutes of slumber before her alarm went off. Just as she threw her covers over her head and began to shut her eyes, a huge blast of sound erupted from the room across the hall- Beast Boy's room.

Growling, she held her hands over her ears and jumped out of her bed. As she walked across the hallway towards Beast Boy's room, she could literally see the floor vibrating from the noise. She kicked the door open and saw Beast Boy sitting in front of two huge speakers, calmly reading a magazine. The stereo had a marquee across a small screen that read in bright green letter "ARTIST: THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER…SONG: FUNERAL THIRST…ALBUM…" and so on. The sound emanating from the speakers was kind of like a drunk cookie monster, the evil vocals compounded by an insanely fast double bass beat and a greatly detuned guitar riff that spewed out riffs that threatened to collapse by its first arpeggio.

And quite frankly, it was pissing her off.

Grasping her ears again, she yelled out, "Beast Boy! Could you turn that down!?"

Beast Boy turned around and yelled back, "What!?"

"Could you turn it down!?"

"What!?"

"BEAST BOY WILL YOU TURN THE GOD DAMN MUSIC DOWN!"

"Oh."

Beast Boy got up and lowered the volume. Raven sighed and sat down next to him on his bed. "Beast Boy, why do you feel the need to play this music before any of us are even up?"

Beast Boy grinned. "Love you too, Raven."

Raven was about to say something, when Starfire and Robin came bursting into the room, jolting Beast Boy from his bed.

Robin frantically looked around and withdrew his Bo-Staff. "What's going on!? Where's the problem?!"

Raven pointed at Beast Boy and said, "Music."

Robin relaxed. "Oh. I thought it was a bunch of Vietnamese people having their stomachs ripped out with a fork."

Beast Boy scoffed. "You people have no tolerance for death metal at all."

The green changeling looked at Robin for a moment, noticing he was in his outfit. "Robin? Why are you wearing your spandex? Do you sleep in it?"

Robin hesitated. "Well…I need to be ready, if something comes up…"

"Uh huh…" Beast Boy said, assuming an artificially presumptuous look. Robin rolled his eyes and left the room, Starfire following after him, leaving Raven and Beast Boy alone.

Raven yawned and stretched, still tired from her interruption of sleep. As she stretched her arms out, Beast Boy grabbed her by the stomach and playfully pulled her down, kissing her neck as they embraced. Raven giggled and said, "Beast Boy, stop…"

Beast Boy growled slightly and began nibbling her ear, when the phone went off in the distance. Beast Boy got up for a moment, but Raven pulled him back down, pressing her lips against his in a passionate kiss.

"Beast Boy!" Robin yelled from the living room. Beast Boy got back up again. '_Damn it…_' he thought to himself.

"What is it?" he yelled back.

"Phone call! It's from Ben!"

Beast Boy groaned and got up, Raven walking behind him. When Beast Boy reached Robin, the masked leader handed the phone to Beast Boy.

"Hello?" Beast Boy said slightly irritably.

"B.B.?" came Ben's throaty voice.

"This better be good. I was," he said lowering his voice, "just about to score, you know."

Ben chuckled for a beat. "Beast Boy, some girl from Gotham is at my house saying you got her pregnant."

Beast Boy stopped dead. He stumbled with the phone, stammering, "Dude, but how…I never even…what the hell? It's…impossible…"

The sound of Ben laughing interrupted Beast Boy's faltering.

"I'm kidding, dude."

Beast Boy breathed a huge sigh of relief. "That wasn't funny. You scared the shit out of me."

Ben chuckled again. "You know it was funny."

"Alright, it was pretty good. But it wasn't funny."

"Yeah it was."

Beast Boy snorted and said, "Look, what did you want to call me about?"

"Alright, you know how you said the band would get together on the fourteenth?"

Beast Boy nodded and said, "Uh huh…"

"And you know how it's, like, the fourteenth?"

Beast Boy paused. "Oh."

Ben snorted and said, "Dave and Rob are already here. You want me to come pick you up, or would you rather fly over?"

Beast Boy shrugged. "I'll fly."

* * *

Cyborg looked up from his cereal and watched from the kitchen table as Beast Boy morphed into a bird, jumped out the window and began flying away. Returning his focus on his now finished cereal, he turned the bowl up and drank the remaining milk from it. Robin sat down next to him and began reading the newspaper. Cyborg snorted as Robin opened up the paper and began reading the first section. Robin looked at him and said, "What?"

Cyborg jabbed his spoon at the paper. "You know that paper has a huge conservative bias, right?"

Robin shrugged and replied, "Since when did you become so interested in politics?"

Cyborg grinned. "Ever since NOFX went on the 'Rock the Vote' tour. Besides, if I don't, then P. Diddy will kill me."

Robin rolled his eyes and returned his glance back to the paper. As Cyborg got up from the table, he whispered in Robin's ear, "Capitalist pig."

As Cyborg set his bowl and spoon in the sink, the phone abruptly went off. Cyborg casually picked it up with a nonchalant "Hello?"

"Yes, I am a pollster from the Jump City Times. Is this the Titans residence?"

Cyborg snickered for a moment, and then said in a high-pitched voice, "No, this Emily's Whorehouse. For a couple hundred dollars we can make all your fantasies and pleasures come to life. We have a special this week- Latinos 20 off!"

Cyborg could hear Robin spiting out his milk, followed by a fit of laughter. Raven made some comment about immaturity and being juvenile.

"Oh. I am sorry, miss. I must have dialed the wrong number. Actually, now that you mention it…"

Cyborg couldn't hold it in any longer. He burst out laughing, dropping the phone in the process. He heard an indignant scoff from the other line, trailed by the sound of the other line hanging up. He and Robin exchanged hi-fives. They looked at each other, then burst out laughing again.

"Robin, what is this 'whorehouse' that Cyborg speaks of? And what is so funny?" Starfire asked from the opposite side of the room. Robin froze instantaneously as his face turned a bright red color. Cyborg tried to hold back more laughter, but failed. Raven promptly closed up the book she had been reading, and left the room, saying, "I'm staying out of this one."

Robin opened his mouth to speak, but Cyborg interrupted him. "Starfire, you know that girl Courtney Love that shows up on TV sometimes?"

Starfire nodded and asked, "Is she one of these 'whores'?"

Cyborg giggled and nodded exuberantly. Robin shoved Cyborg and said, "No, that's not true, Starfire."

Starfire looked at him quizzically. "It's not?"

Robin paused. "Well, it kind of is, but no."

Starfire scratched her head. "I am confused."

Cyborg butted in, saying, "Well, Starfire, a whore is someone you can pay for…certain services. Understand?"

Starfire looked confused for a moment, but then seemed to get it. "I understand, Cyborg."

Robin sighed a huge sigh of relief. It was short-lived, however, as Starfire soon interjected, "I believe that Beast Boy is one of these 'whores'."

Robin and Cyborg's mouths dropped as she said this. Robin snapped out of his trance and said, "Um…Star…can you tell me how Beast Boy is a whore?"

Starfire nodded a little too happily and said, "One time, I felt too tired to clean the dishes, so I paid Beast Boy five dollars to do it for me. That makes him a whore, no?"

Cyborg snickered. Robin turned around to face the hybrid, and said, "See what you did, Cyborg? You could have just said 'Jump City Morgue' or 'Jump City Penitentiary'. But nooooooo, you had to say 'Whorehouse', didn't you?"

Cyborg grinned innocently.

* * *

Beast Boy flew over the suburbs of Jump City towards Ben's house. Upon arriving, he regressed to his original form and knocked on the door. A tall, busty girl, who looked like she could have been a Maxim centerfold, answered the door and stood in the doorway. Her hair was a straight, blonde color with black and blue highlights, and fell just below her shoulders. She had a moderately tan complexion, reminiscent of Carmen's. Her left ear had been pierced twice, and her right once. One ear sported the Playboy bunny, and the other was clad in a pentacle and an upside-down cross. She wore a tight, white Fender T-shirt that exposed her bellybutton and strong abdominal muscles. Around her bellybutton, the biohazard symbol was tattooed in black and red. Her left wrist carried a spiked black wristband, while her right wrist had nothing. She wore loose-fitting black cargo pants, with a chain extending from a belt loop to her back pocket. Her pants nearly covered her white running shoes, which had been doodled upon in red and black ink.

She blew a bubble from the gum she had been chewing, and through the bubble you could see the bolt she had in her tongue. She popped the bubble, and in a vague Bostonian accent she said, "Can I help you?"

Beast Boy nodded and said, "Yeah, is Ben there?"

The girl turned around and yelled, "Ben! Someone's here to see you!"

A soft rustling could be heard from inside the house. Ben emerged into the hallway, and upon seeing Beast Boy, he said, "Gar! Come on in!"

The girl stepped out of the way, granting Beast Boy passage into the house. Beast Boy smiled and walked in. Exchanging shoulder punches with Ben, he pointed to the girl and asked, "Who's she?"

Ben smiled and said, "That's my new girlfriend, Lisa Crowley. She moved in with me after her landlord evicted her."

Ben looked at Lisa and motioned for her to come over. She smiled and walked up next to him, asking, "Who's your friend?"

Ben nodded and said, "Lisa, this is Gar Logan. He plays lead guitar for the band."

Lisa smiled again, this time more warmly, and extended her hand. Beast Boy smiled back and shook her hand. Ben leaned next to Gar and whispered in his ear, "She's kind of wacky, so be careful."

Ben motioned for the two to follow him into the living room. Dave and Rob were already there, Dave sitting on the couch with his feet on the coffee table and Rob lethargically situated on a recliner with his feet resting on an Ottoman. The coffee table had a slew of unorganized piles strewn around, with a pile of dirty magazines in a pile underneath it. Beast Boy looked around, and noticed Ben had made some additions since he had last been there. Posters still polluted the walls and even the ceiling, with pictures ranging from bands to centerfolds to guitars. Ben's guitar and bass collection now hung from pegs on the wall, whereas before they loitered in his basement. He had replaced his wooden floor with an azure, velvety wall-to-wall rug that still sported that new carpet smell. A large TV sat in the back of the room, near a concrete fireplace.

Lisa sighed, sat down next to Dave, and began reading one of the girly mags. Dave and Rob looked at each other, then grinned.

Beast Boy sat on the far end of the sofa, next to Lisa. Ben, having no place to sit, pulled the Ottoman out from under Rob's feet, moved it right on front of the coffee table, and sat down. A small, orange, tiger-striped cat darted from the kitchen and into Ben's lap. Beast Boy looked over and asked, "Since when did you have a cat?"

Ben scratched the cat behind its ears while answering, "I've had him for a while. He just tends to laze around the house and sleep all day, which is why you've never seen him. His name is Silenoz."

"Why Silenoz?" Rob asked.

"Cause that was my dad's last name. Mine too, before, you know, I ran away."

"Ah."

Ben picked out a blank sheet of paper and a pencil from the pile and said, "How many songs do we have now?"

Rob looked over and said, "We've got 'Lack of Comprehension', 'Death in Fire', 'Masters of War', 'Enchanted Nightmare', 'Demon's Night'…am I forgetting any?"

Dave perked up and said, "There's also 'Coming Home' and 'Morbid Tales', too."

Beast Boy thought for a moment before saying, "What about 'The Silence'?"

Ben hurriedly scribbled down the list of songs. "That makes eight songs…not enough for a normal album, too much for an EP or a demo."

"No, eight songs could be enough for an album," Dave said, "and if we want to make a demo or an EP, we can always pick which ones we want on it."

Ben nodded and scribbled some more on the paper.

Dave began digging through his pocket, saying, "Hold on, I just remembered, I wrote a song last night." Picking a folded up piece of paper from his pocket, he handed it to Ben.

"It's called '_Decades of Despair'_," Dave said as Ben promptly began unfolding it. It read:

_I'm drifting through life without any goals  
Blindfolded fool, in my heart there's a hole  
I've looked everywhere but I can't find the real me  
The righteous one, the one I always wanted to be_

_In my dreams I'm all covered in blood  
Beaten to death, lying in the mud  
If I died tonight it would be such a relief  
My soul would finally be free_

_To a blood-filled sky or down below, that's where I belong  
For I have lied, and I have sinned and I have killed your dream_

_Sleepless nights turn into years  
Decades of despair  
All hope is gone since years ago  
Almighty god bring me home_

_Unconscious for the last time in my life  
I hate it! Time to lie down and die  
Let the darkness take me home  
A beautiful end of my totally wasted life_

_To a blood-filled sky or down below, that's where I belong  
For I have lied, and I have sinned and I have killed your dream_

_Sleepless nights turn into years  
Decades of despair  
All hope is gone since years ago  
Almighty god bring me home_

Ben nodded approvingly. "This is real good. I like it." He passed it around the group, so each of the members could take a look at it. When it came to Lisa, she poked Dave in she shoulder and said, "You last name sounds like a car."

Dave looked at her confusingly. Lisa made a comparative gesture with her hands, saying, "Come on, Mustaine, Mustang…don't you see the resemblance?"

Dave shrugged. "I guess so…"

Lisa smiled. "Good. Don't argue with me."

Rob lit up. "That's right? I forgot, I wrote a song too. I call it '_Absolution of the Soul'_." The bassist fished out a piece of paper; this one unfolded, yet crumpled up, and handed it to Ben. Ben read the lyrics out loud, while at the same time trying to figure out how to put vocals over it.

"_Endless sorrow,  
No tomorrow for me  
End this misery!  
Endless sorrow,  
No tomorrow  
Alleviate the suffering!  
Suffering _

Abominate absolution of the soul,  
Accommodate the noose tied  
Around my throat

_Endless sorrow,  
No tomorrow for me  
End this misery!  
Endless sorrow,  
No tomorrow  
Alleviate the suffering!  
Suffering _

Desecrated, compensated!  
Dissolution drawing nearer  
Verdict in, judgment down  
Sentenced, Revolution  
Revolution

_Endless sorrow,  
No tomorrow for me  
End this misery!  
Endless sorrow,  
No tomorrow  
Alleviate the suffering!  
Suffering _

Reward my soul  
Denial…"

Beast Boy grabbed the paper from Ben, reading it over. "That's pretty good. Usually your songs suck ass, Rob."

Rob threw a crumpled up piece of paper at Beast Boy, making contact with Beast Boy's head. Beast Boy in turn stuck his tongue out.

Ben sat up and kicked Beast Boy in the foot. "Knock it off."

Lisa smirked and said, "The coffee maker broke, so he's had to go three days without his beloved coffee."

Beast Boy smiled. Dave perked up again and said, "Then why are you having band practice at 8 in the morning?"

Ben shrugged. "I usually get up at 6 anyway."

Rob raised an eyebrow. "Why are you up at six in the morning?"

"Um…stuff."

Ben made a gesture with his hand that implied they should forget about it. Attempting to get back on track, he said, "Alright, he have all the songs?"

His comrades nodded. Ben walked over to the phone and said, "Alright, I'll call the recording studio to see when we can come in."

* * *

Starfire stared blankly at Robin.

"You mean to tell me that humans let others do that to themselves for _money!?_" Starfire said incredulously. Cyborg snorted for a moment, and then said, "Just wait until she sees what Britney Spears does to herself."

Robin pushed Cyborg away and said, "Shut up! The last thing I want to do right now is explain more stuff to Starfire she doesn't need to know."

Cyborg playfully pushed Robin and said, "Well, she was going to have to find out sooner or later."

"Yeah, I suppose so, but I really, really would have preferred later rather than sooner."

* * *

Woohoo! The second act has begun! My apologies if I took a while to update, but as I told Bold Achilles before, I've been having some…ahem…"self-esteem issues". Also, sorry if this chapter seemed unfulfilling, but I'm trying really hard to keep it all in sequence. Oh, and don't be fooled by the upbeat attitude of this chapter; the next few chapters I intend to be a lot darker.

Review answering time!

MoonWinged-Faerie- Hey, I haven't seen you before. You really think I deserve more praise? Thanks, but I think my story still leaves a lot to be desired. Anyways. Thanks a lot! You're a very complimentary person.

HpRaven89- You think I'm brilliant? Gracias, mi amiga!

ScarletAngel68- Yeah, a soccer-playing Trigon did strike me as a funny sight. m/ m/!!!!! Thanks for the birthday present!

Daeren Ryft- My act got an 11 out of 10? Why not a 12? I'm so terrible…hah, just kidding.

Snea- You want 4 acts? Might be kinda hard, since it tentatively is gone deal with tme and time travel…and you know how complicated that is. If for some reason you don't, try learning about the space-time continuum.

Cd lover- No, Poor Twisted Me lives on! I am unstoppable!

Kestrel- Squee, I loved Spellbound.

Bold Achilles- You saw Shaun of the Dead? Awesome! I wanted to see that movie, along with a million others, but I never got around to it. Peace out, mi compadre.

Living Impaired- I didn't forget you this time! Sorry, sometimes I leave out people in my hurry to update. Judging by the length of this last act, I'd say at least 40 more chapters to go. Hey, you have the same name as one of my friends! Only she's a grade above me.

Soraoathkeeper- Uh huh…well, I'm sure it looks good in your head, since I have this weird thing where I can never imagine stuff if I didn't think about it. To tell you the truth, I'm still not entirely sure how the second act's gonna play out. I mean, I have a bunch of ideas for different plot arcs, but I don't know which ones to put. I'll probably just play it by ear.


	23. The Sigma Enigma Part 2

Poor Twisted Me Chapter 23 

**Note: This chapter is dedicated in memory of Dimebag Darrell of Pantera and Damageplan, my personal guitar hero, who was senselessly murdered on December 8th . You're in green heaven now, jamming with Hendrix, Randy Rhoads, John Bonham, Cliff Burton, Kurt Cobain, and Bon Scott. RIP.**

* * *

About two weeks later… 

"Okay, how many hours you guys want?" the guy at the Omega Recording Studio asked in a thick Italian accent. Ben glanced at Dave and then replied, "How about you give us a flat per-hour rate and then we can have as much time as we want, Mike?"

The attendant, who evidently was Mike, said, "I'll charge you twenty bucks an hour for it."

"Jeez, Mike, you're breaking my balls here, Mike," Ben replied, "I'll pay fifteen for an hour."

"Seventeen."

"Sixteen."

"Fine."

Beast Boy looked at Dave and said, "Damn, dude, Ben's good."

Dave nodded. "He's like an old Jewish grandma."

Rob punched Dave in the shoulder. "Shut up, I'm Jewish."

Dave grinned and joked, "Jesus killer."

"What would you know? You and your girlfriend are fucking pagans," Rob retorted. Dave grinned and said, "Yeah, but you know what's part of our religion?"

Rob scratched his head and said, "What?"

Dave leaned over and whispered in his ear. Rob's eyes opened wide, and he said, "That's hot."

Beast Boy grinned and said, "Go agnosticism!"

Ben jumped in, saying, "My religion owns you all. I'm fucking Buddhist! Hell yeah!"

Mike leaned over and said, "Hey, you guys gonna get in the booth or what?"

Dave looked over and said, "Hold on, my girlfriend's coming, and I want to wait until she gets here. She's never seen me play before."

Ben rolled his eyes and said, "She can watch you play another time, when we're not getting charged fifteen dollars an hour."

"Come on, just five more minutes," Dave said. But almost on cue, the doors swung open, and a medium-sized, skinny, pink-haired girl wearing all black walked in. Beast Boy's eyes widened when he saw whom it was.

* * *

The sounds of laughter and childish playing echoed throughout the city park. As Raven quietly strolled through the park, a group of young kids in front of her tossed a football back and forth, one almost running into Raven. 

"Sowwy, Mrs. Lady!" the child said in that adorably cute/undeveloped accent that kids always have., Raven merely stepped to the side and continued walking.

"I hate kids," she mumbled to herself.

Lately, she had started to become depressed, as Beast Boy had begun to spend more and more of his time on the bands and less time on her. And when she had confronted him about this, they had begun to fight over it. In retrospect, most couples usually did this at least once, except for Robin and Starfire (Raven could never figure this out; when she asked Starfire, she innocently replied "Why would I fight with Robin? I only fight the bad guys."). But still, it was depressing nonetheless.

She sighed and sat down on a nearby bench, observing her surroundings. A normal Saturday afternoon, at first glance. As her eyes wandered, she caught notice of a small stone ruins over in the nearby forest, something that hadn't been there before. She shrugged it off and began walking back away. Her mind began wandering again, and before long, she found herself drawn to the forest. It was strange; she could see nothing unusual, yet it was like there was a mental magnet that she couldn't resist. She stared at the Stonehenge-like monument, wondering both where it had come from and why she was drawn to it.

She shook it off and told herself it was nothing. Picking herself up, she flew back to the Tower, although periodically looking back at the testament as she flew.

* * *

Beast Boy found himself at a loss for words as he began to fully realize who had entered the door. As Dave walked over and kissed the girl on the cheek, Beast Boy managed to squeeze out a single word. 

"Jinx!"

The witch looked over at him and smiled, as if they had first met.

Dave turned around and said, "Everyone, this is my girlfriend Jinx."

The band members exchanged greetings, while Beast Boy could only manage to gape, mouth open. Jinx smiled again and said, "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"

"Dave! What are you doing?" Beast Boy yelled. "She's an evil succubus from hell!"

Jinx frowned and said, "Are you still mad about me trying to kill you all those times?"

"Yes!"

Dave frowned and said, "Jinx, what's going on?"

Jinx sighed and replied, "My group and his group had a couple spats a while back."

"Spats!" Beast Boy yelled. "We were at fucking war with each other!"

Ben jumped and said, "Can't you two fight later? We're in the middle of a session."

Beast Boy scowled at Jinx, who merely grinned innocently. The green shape-shifter and his bandmates entered the recording booth, picking up their respective instruments.

"'Lack of Comprehension' on three, guys," Ben yelled out. "Mike, you ready to start?"

The red "Recording" light flickered on, followed by Ben's quick three-count. As the instruments kicked in, Ben growled a deep, George Fisher-like scream, sustaining it for a few second before the instrumentals switched over to the verse riff. Dave banged away a high-tempo double-bass beat as Ben and Beast Boy built up a distorted, low-pitched guitar part. As for Rob, he just kind of stood there and played bass. But he had a really awesome bass guitar, so I guess it evened out. Ben raised his head up to the mic and began to sing in his normal cookie monster-like vocals.

"_Condemning fear strikes down,  
Things they cannot understand  
An excuse to cover up weaknesses that lie within  
Lies  
Laying your guilt and pain  
On people that had no part in the molding of a life  
That creates its destruction  
Lies  
Right before your very eyes  
A reflection of the mistakes  
To the end you will deny  
Your part in the demise of a life  
Lack of comprehension  
Thriving on your cliché  
Compelled by self-resentment_"

As the vocals came to a pause, Beast Boy went right into a screaming, harmonic guitar solo, using and abusing his wah-pedal that bore the note "To Beast Boy, with love from Raven" in white marker. A drum bridge followed, and Ben dived straight back into the vocals.

"_Reaching into the minds of those that created  
The depression in which they  
In which they drowned their flesh and blood  
Lies  
So easy to blame the  
Everlasting fear on a pathetic attempt  
To justify the ending of life  
Lies  
Right before your very eyes  
A reflection of the mistakes  
To the end you will deny  
Your part in the demise of a life  
Lack of comprehension  
Thriving on your cliché  
Compelled by self-resentment_"

Ben ended the song with one final scream as the instrumentals stopped and died out. The "Recording" light flicked off, and Mike's voice came through the intercom, saying "Nice job guys. Come back here, and I'll fix the song up however you want it."

* * *

About three hours later… 

Mike pressed a button on the soundboard, and out popped a cassette tape, the final version of "Lack of Comprehension" completed. Ben sighed and said, "Three hours for one fucking song?"

Mike nodded and said, "Yeah, that's about how long the average song takes to finish and wrap up in a neat little package. Thank God you guys haven't hit the big time."

"Why?" Dave asked. Mike shook his head and said, "I got the guys from Poison in here once. Let me tell you, fame has gone to their heads so much that if the smallest thing goes wrong, they argue with each other for hours and nothing gets done."

Rob wrinkled his nose. A curious look came over Mike's face and he said, "You know, my brother Zakk is a band manager, and he's gonna meet up with the head honchos at Metal Blade Records this week. If you want, I can send this to him and have the guys at the Blade check it out. If you're lucky, you might even get a deal."

An astonished silence filled the room. After maybe half a minute, Beast Boy broke the silence and said, "You would do that?"

Mike nodded. "Why not? It's the least I can do after you guys…uhh…actually, you've never done anything for me. Well, I'll do it out of kindness then."

Ben smiled and shook Mike's hand. "Thanks a bunch, Mike."

As the four began to leave the studio, Mike yelled out, "I wouldn't get my hopes up!"

They paid no heed to him, however. As they began to load the equipment into Ben's truck, Beast Boy looked around and said, "Where's Jinx?"

Dave looked at him and said, "Why? What do…"

"…You have against me?" Jinx butted in, appearing out of nowhere from behind Beast Boy. The green shape shifter jumped out of surprise.

Jinx stood behind him with her hands on her hips and continued, "Seriously Beast Boy, I don't work for the H.I.V.E anymore, Gizmo and Mammoth have disappeared, Brother Blood has gone into hiding, and the Academy shut down. Why don't you trust me?"

Beast Boy could find no response. Jinx impatiently tapped her foot. "Well?"

"…I don't know."

Jinx bent over so her face was level with Beast Boy's. "Well then, why don't we just put our past behind us and be friends?"

The sorceress extended her hand. Beast Boy eyed the hand suspiciously. Slowly and cautiously, he inched his hand towards hers. He paused for a moment, but Jinx grabbed his hand and shook it anyway. Jinx stood back up and smiled. "See? Was that so hard?"

Beast Boy sheepishly shook his head.

Jinx patted Beast Boy's head. "Good boy."

Dave waved goodbye to his friends as he and Jinx hopped into his car, which was clad with multiple obscene bumper stickers. Beast Boy stared at his hand, confused.

Ben gave him a weird look. "What the hell just happened?" he asked.

Beast Boy continued to stare at his hand. "I have no idea."

* * *

Night fell quickly. Winter had begun to approach Jump City, and the daylight slowly shortened with each passing day. When Beast Boy returned back to the Tower, the Tower was silent, save for Cyborg's snoring. Exhausted after the tedious work in the recording studio, he fell onto the couch and dozed off. Everyone was slumbering, except for Raven. 

She found herself unable to fall asleep, for the revelation she had see earlier could not escape her mind. Eventually, she became fed up with it, threw on her cloak, and walked out of her room. As she passed through the living room, she caught sight of Beast Boy knocked out on the couch. Smiling slightly, she walked over to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Beast Boy stirred in his sleep, a dormant grin beginning to spread across his face.

Raven continued out of the Tower, taking flight as she exited. The monument was still at the same position it was before, yet it exuded an eerie red glow this time. Raven landed in the center of the monument, in front of a large center pillar. The middle of the pillar bore a small Greek Sigma letter, from which the glow seemed to be centered. Raven reached out her hands to touch, when a voice from behind her spoke up.

"Are you ready for it, Raven?" a deep voice asked from behind her. Raven turned around, and to her surprise, an enigmatic figure stood behind her. He/She/It was clothed in a long black hooded cloak, concealing his/hers/its entire identity. Raven stumbled for a moment, and then said, "Ready for what?"

The figure did not move. After a beat, it spoke up again.

"Do not be afraid."

With that, the figure disappeared. Raven raised an eyebrow, bewildered. In the blink of an eye, the figure disappeared. Before she could think or react, the glow from the sigma letter brightened tenfold, and the symbol began shifting and distorting, until it resembled nothing like a sigma. In its place, a circle surrounding a pentacle with vertical lines going through it stood. Under it, a phrase that bore the words "_Pseudomonarchia daemonum" _appeared in red cursive print. The glow continued to brighten and become larger, until Raven was surrounded by it. She closed her eyes, hoping she would wake up, that this was all a dream.

She felt a sharp gust around her, whipping her hair all around. Gradually, she began to open her eyes, but as soon as she did, she regretted it. The world around her had dissipated, replaced by a swirling black and blue vortex. Pictures of both demonic figures and angelic beings zoomed past her. She closed her eyes and covered her ears, still in disbelief. Suddenly, the gust subsided, and her hair and cloak fell back to her sides. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes, only to find a sight that shocked her to no end.

"Impossible…I'm in Azarath!"

* * *

Morning began to approach the Tower. As the sunshine leaked through the Tower's windows and onto Beast Boy's face, he squinted and turned over. Deciding he wasn't going to get anymore sleep, he wiped his face and got up. Starfire and Robin had already gotten up and were beginning to eat their respective breakfasts. Cyborg was still asleep. 

Beast Boy yawned and walked over to the table, setting up the coffee maker for a cup. Robin looked over and said, "Morning."

"Morning," Beast Boy replied. "Hey, have you guys seen Raven?"

Starfire shook her head. "I thought she went with you."

Beast Boy frowned and shook his head. "No, there was only me and the guys at the studio. Us and Jinx, that is."

Robin snapped around. "Jinx was there! Why didn't you tell me!"

Beast Boy held up his hands. "Slow down Robin, she wasn't there to rob the place or anything. She was with Dave."

Robin raised an eyebrow. "You might want to elaborate."

Beast Boy sighed and answered, "As Dave tells me, he met Jinx at this Six Feet Under concert over in Gotham, and they hooked up together."

Robin narrowed his eyes. "I don't like the sound of that."

Beast Boy shrugged and said, "To be honest, I really think she's turned over a new leaf."

"What makes you say that," Robin suspiciously asked. Beast Boy frowned uneasily and replied, "I don't know. I just have a gut feeling."

Robin seemed to process this new information for a moment, scratching his chin in an almost inquisitive manner. After a few seconds, he sighed and said, "Keep a close eye on her. If she does anything suspicious, don't hesitate to tell me."

Beast Boy nodded, beginning to feel like he was being interrogated. At any moment, he was expecting Robin to ask him to recite the alphabet backwards.

Starfire interrupted just as things began to get awkward, saying, "Does any of this have to do with the whereabouts of our friend?"

Robin shook his head and retuned to his paper. Beast Boy sighed. He had a feeling this was going to be a long day.

All of a sudden, the Tower alarm began to go off, something that hadn't happened in ages. Cyborg walked in, visibly confused.

"What's going on?" he yelled. Robin jumped up from his chair and said, "Finally, some action."

Robin ran over to the apparatus by the TV and switched it on. The picture of the head police sergeant of Jump City appeared, noticeably concerned.

"Long time no see, sergeant," Robin said. The officer nodded and said, "Ditto, Robin."

"What's the problem?" the leader asked. The sergeant scratched his head and said, "We got a bunch of reports about strange things occurring all over Jump City. Evidently, strange portals have started appearing all over, and some weird stuff has been coming out of it. We called the Titans East in from Steele City to help you guys out. Bumblebee said she wants to meet with you guys at one of the sites to try and work out a plan. The site is located at Burton Avenue, number 232. The house belongs to a loner by the name of Vincent Damon Furnier."

(A/N: Cookies to anyone who knows who Vincent Damon Furnier is!)"

Beast Boy lit up and said, "That's right by where Ben lives."

Robin nodded curtly. "We'll be right on it."

The sergeant nodded back, and his picture promptly disappeared from the screen.

Starfire interrupted, saying, "But what about Raven?"

Robin thought for a second, and then said, "We'll have to wait on that one. Besides, she's probably just at her usual café."

Cyborg raised his eyebrows, saying, "Well, this should really be interesting."

* * *

Raven continued to look around, now absolutely certain she was in Azarath. But why? Why was she there? 

Raven stared blankly ahead and fell to her knees, unable to process everything all at once. She grabbed her head and closed her eyes, hoping it would all end and she would wake up. But nothing happened.

"That won't do you any good, Raven," a voice said from behind her. She turned around, and behind her stood the same inscrutable figure she had seen before. Raven began to get angry.

"Who the hell are you! Where the hell am I? What the hell is going on!" she yelled at the figure. He/She/It merely stood there. Raven stared, her temper rising. After a few seconds, the figure seemed to dissipate into the air, little by little, until he had completely dematerialized. Raven yelled into the air, unimaginably frustrated.

She began walking, trying to find the figure by any means. After what seemed like ages, although in reality was only a few minutes, she stumbled upon a small village. _Her _village.

Raven gasped slightly as she saw her four-year old self, playing like the child she was with a juvenile Izevm. It was almost amusing how innocent he seemed.

"Yes…almost amusing…" that familiar voice said. Raven whipped around, and sure enough, the figure stood behind her. Evidently, he could read minds. Raven growled and yelled, "Tell me! Where am I?"

The figure seemed to chuckle for a moment, and then said, "You be the judge, Raven."

He/She/It dematerialized again, and rematerialized directly to her right, levitating a few yards above the ground.

"Did that portal lead you to Azarath, in your past, in your home?" The figure said with a presumptuous tone. He dematerialized again, rematerializing this time in front of her, his hooded face only inches away from hers.

"Or was that merely a portal into your own mind?" the creature said, his hot breath blowing onto her face. Raven made a face.

The enigma chuckled again and leaned in closer. "Or are you just losing your mind?"

The figure dematerialized again, this time not rematerializing. Before he disappeared completely, he/she/it quietly whispered into her ear, "You be the judge…"

With that, the figure completely disappeared from sight. Raven became fed up with it, and yelled, "What does that mean?"

Raven yelled again, kicking a nearby boulder out of frustration. Big mistake.

As Raven massaged her pain-stricken foot, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around, and saw a young, naive Izevm standing behind her. She was speechless.

"All you alright?" the child asked. Raven saw her younger self walk up next to Izevm, trying to see what was going on.

Raven sighed and said, "Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you care?"

"I wanted to make sure you were okay. I don't like to see people get hurt," Izevm said. The sheer irony of this statement made Raven chuckle.

"What's so funny?" the young Raven asked her older counterpart. She smiled for a moment and said, "Nothing.

The younger Raven motioned towards her house. "You wanna come inside? My mom's making tea."

Raven thought for a moment, and then decided to hell with it. She nodded and replied, "Sure, why not."

She followed her younger counterpart and Izevm into the house. Sure enough, Arella was there, making tea.

"Mommy, look who me and Izevm found!" the juvenile Raven said. Arella turned around and smiled.

"Hello, I haven't seen you around here."

Raven smiled uneasily and said, "Yeah, I'm, uh, new."

Arella looked curious for a moment, and then said, "That's funny…you have the same chakra as Raven."

The younger Raven pointed to the chakra on her forehead, not saying anything. Arella looked into Raven's eyes, and said, "You look really familiar, too…"

Raven cleared her throat and said, "You know, I really should get going…"

Arella smiled politely. "Goodbye then!"

Raven nodded. "Thanks."

With that, she left the house and began walking.

* * *

"Take a left," Beast Boy said as the team cruised along in the T-Car. Beast Boy was the only one present who know the way to Burton Avenue, so he was giving the directions. The numbers on the houses increased little by little, until they came to number 232. Robin and the others could already see Bumblebee and the two twins in the backyard. As they exited the car and headed out to the backyard, they could make out a huge statue standing in the backyard, with all the Titans East standing around it. Más and Menos turned around, and both grinned at the sight of Cyborg. "Hola¡Señor Cyborg!" They cried out in unison, "¡El tiempo largo ningún considera!" 

Cyborg paused for a moment, his Spanish skills less than adequate. Beast Boy whispered into his ear, "Say, 'Gracias, yo ni unos ni otros'."

Cyborg paused and, in a terrible Hispanic accent, said, "Gracias, yo ni unona otro!"

Beast Boy shook his head as Más and Menos gave him a funny look.

Aqualad walked over to Beast Boy and looked at his shirt. "What's 'Children of Bodom', Beast Boy?"

Beast Boy sighed and said, "It's a band, stupid."

Aqualad frowned. "Glad to see you too."

Titans East hadn't changed much since its inception. Más and Menos had grown a few inches,yet Menos's tooth had notgrown back. They were still relatively the same, overall. Bumblebee had…ahem…developed, as well as grown a few inches. Aqualad had cut his hair, and had put on some muscle. Speedy was still the same. A surprise overall, considering how much the Titans had changed.

Robin walked over to Bumblebee. "What's the problem?"

Bumblebee gestured over to the statue. "Not much to explain. This guy, Vinnie Furnier, says he was minding his own business, watching TV, when all of a sudden this blue glow came from out of nowhere. He said he went out to the backyard to check it out, and then this black and blue portal appeared from where the glow had been. He then said that this statue came out of the portal, and that was it."

Starfire walked over to study the statue for a moment. The two twins caught sight of her and fell into a love-stricken stupor immediately. Grabbing a flower from the ground, Menos gave Starfire a toothy grin and handed her the flower. Starfire smiled somewhat uneasily. Más pushed him out of the way and handed her a box of chocolates from out of nowhere.

Robin scratched his chin curiously, oblivious to the rivalry behind him. "Did he have any other details?"

Bumblebee pondered for a moment, and then said, Now that you mention it, he said that before the portal appeared, there was an illumination of a Sigma letter. He also said that right before the portal appeared, the Sigma started changing. He can't remember what it changed into, though."

Beast Boy studied the statue. Something about it looked familiar…

* * *

Whew! That sure took me a long time to write… 

Man, I tell you guys, Dime's murder just blew me away. I mean, he was my John Lennon, my personal Jesus (figuratively). Well, I'm just glad his killer is rotting in hell right now.

Moving on, some of you guys will notice that the chapter title has changed. This is because I abandoned my original idea for the first arc in favor for a less depressing one. You guys don't want to know what I was going to write beforehand.

Also, I'm sorry it took so long to write this, but I joined the high school wrestling team right after Thanksgiving break, and let me tell you, it has taken up every single aspect of my life. Not to mention my utter inability to eat anything that weighs more than five ounces. No, I am not exaggerating. But, the good news is, I'm by far the best guy on Junior Varsity. And the season ends two weeks from this Saturday, unless I qualify for the State Tournament, in which case it's another week. But what really stinks about being on the wrestling team is that, even though we're the only school team that's undefeated, and we're the only ones who beat our rival, Bethel, we still get last priority when it comes to where we wrestle. I mean, we have to practice in freaking Cafeteria, for Buddha's sake! And even for our matches, we only get the _Middle School_ gym. It sucks.

But on a lighter note, yesterday was both _Poor Twisted Me_'s 8th month anniversary and the day that it broke 300 reviews (I think)! Come on, give it a present

Before I answer reviews, I have one last note. I was really surprised at the number of people (2) who don't trust Lisa Crowley. I only reveal my future intentions for writing to my closest friends, but I'm telling everyone right now: Lisa is not evil, she is not a reincarnation of Izevm, there is no incarnation of Izevm, and Lisa is an innocent, despite who she's named after…just kidding, Lisa (I mean my friend ScarletAngel68. I don't talk to my characters).

Okay, time to answer reviews.

Soraoathkeeper- Look, as I said before, Lisa's just another semi-meaningless OC, like Noah and James, although that remains to be seen. Anyway, thanks for reviewing!

Kestrel- Thanks; I will keep up the great work.

PrincessCat- Hey, don't take the Latina comment too seriously. You must have forgotten, I myself am 80 Hispanic. I have reserve brownie points…hella awesome…

Warprince2000- Hola! Thanks for reviewing!

LivingImpaired- Thanks! Yeah, I guess it is a lot of chapters, but then again, I write a lot I like your name, by the way.

Daeren Ryft- don't die laughing! 'Cause that would make me responsible, and then would come the guilt, then the lawsuits, then the mobs of lawyers…

Actually, the name "Her Ghost in the Fog" only fitted my original idea, so when I changed the plot arcs, I changed the title. Originally, the name "Her Ghost in the Fog" was figurative, although I don't want the explanation to be out for everyone to see.

Lordoftherats- "I read your story totally kick"…Totally kick what? Oh well, I guess a review wins out over bad grammar every time. Thanks for reviewing!

ScarletAngel68- Papers suck. I sympathize, my friend. You know, I really think you shouldn't declare your love for Cyborg, considering I gave you Ben to play with. As for the names, all of the names in my story have at least some meaning, and Silenoz is no different. Bet you fifty (imaginary) dollars you'll never figure who Silenoz is/what it means. Cats do rule. I had this cat once, but it tried to kill me. Like, literally. Oh, and the chapters aren't going to get any darker than this one.

Bold Achilles- Thanks, comrade. Actually, I didn't write either of those lyrics, and I didn't for the song this chapter either. Each of the songs mentions, except for "The Silence", was by another band. "Lack Of Comprehension" was by Death, "Decades of Despair was by Carnal Forge, and "Absolution of the Soul" was by Into Eternity. I loved that South Park with Paris Hilton…she got engulfed by Mr. Slave's ass. The single funniest thing ever. Thanks for reviewing!

Chaos Elemental- Hey, you're the only one who saw the connection. Good job! I won't tell you the connection, though. You'll have to figure it out yourself.

Twin-Lupus- As I said to Daeren Ryft about the chapter, it was only temporary. Thanks for reviewing!

Ms. Myxztipik- Thanks! I appreciate the compliments.

ApERFECtcircle- Thanks, although I'm not 13 anymore. I'm 14 now!

GothAngel101- Thanks! I will continue.

Dancingirl3- Thanks you! Will do.

That's all, folks! This is Ozzy signing out.


	24. The Sigma Engima Part 3

**Poor Twisted Me Chapter 24**

Robin continued to study the statue. Beast Boy walked over to the masked leader and said, "Something familiar about it, right?"

Robin nodded. "I just can't place my finger on it."

Beast Boy nodded silently. "I'm starting to worry about Raven. Do you think she might be in trouble?"

Robin shook his head. "Raven's a smart girl. She can take care of herself."

Beast Boy snorted with an irate tone unlike him. "I'm sure that's what you said right before Izevm killed me."

Robin had no reply.

* * *

Raven sat cross-legged on top of a boulder, trying to make heads or tails of what was going on. The enigmatic figure had confused her thoroughly. She sighed, attempting to sort out the different possibilities. One distinct possibility was that the portal had taken her into the past of Azarath, which would explain why she saw herself and Izevm. But still, she had trouble understanding why she had been dropped off at the exact moment she did. It could be a portal into her mind, like the figure had suggested. However, the mirror in her room was supposed to serve that purpose. There was also the third possibility, which Raven really hoped wasn't the case: that Raven was losing her mind.

Raven sighed again and twirled a tuft of hair in between her fingers. She had officially decided that should she survive and make it back to Jump City, she would never go near any magical portals again.

She picked herself up and began walking in the direction she _really _hoped would lead her somewhere. She had walked for no more than five minutes, when she spotted a small rock outcropping. The same rock outcropping where…

'_Oh God no_…' Raven thought to herself. She held her breath, afraid of what she might hear. Sure enough, she began to hear giggling behind the rock outcropping. Raven began to tiptoe towards the rock outcropping to see the source of the noise, although deep down she really knew who was giggling.

But still, she was drawn to the outcropping, just for closure. She needed none. For as soon as her field of vision extended into the hidden area where the giggling was coming from, she saw herself, with Izevm, in a tight embrace, with their lips locked.

She gasped slightly and fell to her knees. Ever since Izevm had disappeared, she had tried as hard to forget him. But now, he was at every turn.

Raven turned away and began to run.

* * *

Bumblebee scribbled some notes down on a notepad. "So the portal appeared after the football game ended and before you went to the fridge to grab a beer?"

Vincent Furnier nodded. "Yep, that's what happened."

Bumblebee shook her head. "Sorry, I really can't infer anything from this information."

Furnier nodded. "That's fine. Ima go to the bar an' pound some brews, wanna come?"

Bumblebee wrinkled her nose. "I don't drink. I'm only 18."

Furnier scoffed. "18? And you don't drink? I think it's time you start."

Bumblebee rolled her eyes and said, "Just go."

"Can do."

As the old man began to walk away, Bumblebee sat down on the ground. "I think we're at a dead end. This old pervert can't remember anything else."

Menos sat down next to her, unfortunately missing the sharp rock he was about to sit on.

"¡Pedazo de mierda!" Menos yelled, jumping up and down. Más snickered. "Boca del potty," he said. Menos glared at him and promptly responded, "¡Cierre tu boca!"

As the two twins bickered, Beast Boy became angrier with every passing second. He could stand it no longer, and began to walk off. Starfire went after him, saying, "Beast Boy! Where are you going?"

Beast Boy angrily looked at Starfire and said, "You are all a bunch of idiots. Did it ever occur to you that maybe Raven being missing has something to do with these magical portals appearing? Huh?"

Robin raised an eyebrow, not accustomed to Beast Boy being angry like this. Sighing and handing Bumblebee's notepad back to her, he said, "Beast Boy, calm down. I'm sure Raven is okay."

Beast Boy growled and said, "Don't tell me to calm down! You're too calm! You're acting as if Raven is incapable of getting harmed!"

Robin sighed again. "Beast Boy, listen-"

"No! You can go screw yourself! I'm going to find Raven!"

With that, he walked off. Starfire walked up to Robin and said, "Robin, what did Beast Boy mean when he said, 'Go screw yourself'?"

Robin angrily kicked the ground. "Damnit! Not again!"

Speedy calmly asked Cyborg, "What's his problem?"

Cyborg took a breath and said, "Beast Boy's just gotten really protective of Raven ever since they hooked up. So much that he can get really paranoid sometimes."

Speedy scratched his head. "Did it ever occur to you that Raven might actually be in trouble?"

Cyborg smirked. "Yeah, right. Raven has super magical powers. She can't get in trouble. It's illegal."

Speedy shrugged. "If you say so."

Bumblebee interrupted the pair's conversation. "Guys! We've got another report. Some guy in downtown said he had a portal appear in his apartment. He said he'd go into details when we get there."

Robin nodded and said, "Bumblebee, you take Starfire, Speedy, and the twins with you and investigate. I'll keep Aqualad and Cyborg to see if there are any more leads here. I'll contact you if we find anything."

Bumblebee nodded. "This guy's name is Brian Warner, and he lives on the second floor of apartment room 276 on 16 Aeon Street if you need us. Bye."

With that, Bumblebee flew off, carrying Speedy. Starfire flew off behind her, with the two Hispanic twins very happily perched on her back.

"¡La montaré en cualquier momento!" Menos yelled. Más seemed about to push him off, but instead replied, "Menos, tú eres solamente diez. No la conseguiría a sus esperanzas

del montar a caballo para arriba. Además, tú eres manera demasiado fea para ella. Ella me escogería sobre tú cualquier día."

Menos merely glared at him.

(A/N: Look it up somewhere. I'm a lazy bitch today. Heh.)

Cyborg turned towards Robin and said, "You know, you do realize that if we do need to get them, none of us can fly, so our only way of getting there would be the T-Car."

"Yeah…so?"

"It's almost rush hour."

Robin paused. "Shit."

Aqualad rolled his eyes. "Nice job, Boy Wonder."

* * *

Raven ran and ran until her legs had been reduced to jelly and she could carry herself no longer. She fell to one knee, gasping for breath, as a torrent of emotions and thoughts flooded her mind all at once.

Gradually regaining her composure, Raven began to wonder what the hell was happening. Given that she somehow traveled about ten years by walking for about five minutes, this place had to be inside her head, her memories. Yet it all seemed too detailed, too articulate. She saw things she hadn't remembered from Azarath, like random buildings and houses were gone or replaced. And she had known, and still knows, her old village like the back of her hand, so the anomalies in this realm were a conundrum to her.

She sighed and sat down, clutching her head in her hands. "I wonder how the team is doing…" she said to herself quietly. She looked at her surroundings. Typical Azarath, it seemed, with a few buildings in the distance, some foliage, exactly like it had been every single day of her early life.

A loud rustling in the bushes behind her caught Raven's attention. She turned around, and said, "Who's there?"

The rustling stopped for a moment. Raven looked around intently, hoping that it wasn't the inscrutable figure again. The rustling continued. Raven looked around, her hands becoming enshrouded in a black aura in preparation for an attack. She slowly walked to the bush, knowing that in case it was something hostile, she would be able to surprise it.

A female human head popped out from the bushes and said, "Hello? Who's there?"

Raven relaxed. It was nothing sinister.

The girl jumped out the bushes with ninja-like agility. Assuming a defensive stance, she yelled out, "Stay away! I'm warning you!"

Raven held up her hands and said, "Hey, I'm not going to hurt you. Settle down."

The girl looked at her warily. "How do I know you won't try to jump me like that other prick back there did?"

Raven paused for a moment, responding, "Who tried to jump you?"

She relaxed and inch or two. "Some pale douchebag with these weird-ass black eyes."

Raven frowned. Quite a mouth on her.

"He had this dark black hair that was about ear length and he wore this black cloak," the girl continued. "You wouldn't happen to know him, would you?"

Raven sunk. She knew him, all right.

"Nope, never seen anyone like that," she lied. Raven continued, "Look, if you don't want to trust me, fine. But I doubt you'll be able to find your way out alone." The girl relaxed completely and said, "I'll trust you for a while. But if you think about jumping me, I'll turn your inside out. I'm a black belt in Tae Kwon Do."

Raven rolled her eyes. She motioned for the girl to follow her. The girl was rather short, the top of her head coming up to Raven's chin. She was very lean, with short brown hair that fell just below her ears. Trying to start a conversation, Raven asked, "So, what's your name?"

"Danielle Abbot. My friends call me Dani. You?"

"Just call me Raven."

The girl raised an eyebrow. "Hey, I know you! You're on that superhero team that lives in the big 'T' by the lake."

"Gee, I'm a regular celebrity," Raven responded dryly. Dani frowned and said, "Hey, I'm just trying to be nice. You don't have to get all sarcastic."

Raven sighed. "I'm sorry. Today's just been a really bad day."

"Why? Your boyfriend dump you or something?"

"No. First of all, I'm here. I was going to have a nice, normal day reading books and writing poetry, but I just had to get sucked up into that portal and end up here."

Dani nodded. "I hate Mondays too."

Raven looked over at the girl. "So how'd you end up here?"

"Well, I was on my computer, answering an e-mail from some kid who wanted to contribute to my literary magazine's music CD, when this weird portal appeared in my backyard. My parent's were both asleep, so I went and checked it out myself. Then, poof! I wound up here."

Raven continued walking, only half-listening to the girl's words.

"So how do you plan to get back home?" Dani asked. Raven said nothing.

"Hello?" the girl said, this time a little louder. Raven exhaled and said, "I don't know. You'd think that after all the times I went through some cataclysmic change in my surroundings, I'd have some faint idea for getting back home."

Dani raised an eyebrow. "Cataclysmic change? Elaborate."

"Long story," Raven replied curtly.

"I'm not going anywhere."

The girl was too smart, Raven thought to herself. Taking a deep breath, she said, "Well, it all started when I was born…"

* * *

A green eagle soared above the ground, scanning the surface below for any sign of Raven. As the minutes flew by, Beast Boy became more and more frustrated. Despite the eagle's incredible sight and range, he could still find nothing. And although he knew that looking for a single person in all of Jump City was like finding a specific blade of grass in a farm, he refused to stop.

Half an hour went by. Still no Raven. With rage beginning to settle in, Beast Boy landed on top of a rock and tried to think. Just as hopelessness began to surface, it hit him.

Morphing back into an eagle, he flew as fast as he could back to Titans Tower. It was only a short flight to his home. Landing on a perch outside of Raven's room, he pushed the window open with his talons and flew in. He reverted back into his normal form and ran over to Raven's closet. Taking a moment to thrust the door open, he yanked one of Raven's spare boots from the closet. He set the boot on the ground and, changing into a hound dog, began whiffing the boot. He followed the scent until it stopped suddenly at the window. Realizing that she must have taken flight, he changed back, grabbed the boots, and jumped back onto the ledge outside of the window. He shifted back into an eagle, holding the boot in the talons, and flew back out of the window.

Beast Boy glided silently over the lake surrounding Titans Tower until he reached land. Landing and swiftly reverting back to the hound dog, he began sniffing the boot again. Like magic, an invisible path illuminated itself to Beast Boy's nose, heading in a direction towards the city park.

'Score,' Beast Boy thought to himself. Picking up the boot with his teeth, he began following the path into the park. In the distance, he heard a child yell, "Look, Mommy! A green doggy!"

Beast Boy ignored the child and merely continued running. The trail eventually led into the forest, but inexplicably stopped.

Beast Boy regressed into his human form and began looking around. In front of him, maybe a dozen or so yards away, was a peculiar monument that had never been there before. It had an intriguing layout, almost like Stonehenge, but more orderly. Seven stone pillars of identical height and width were lined up in a fashion so that there was one pillar in a row all by itself, then two in the next row, then three, finally stopping at four. In the first row, the lone pillar bore four calligraphic letters written vertically, with the words "Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen" inscribed below them. In the second row, the foremost pillar bore a similar calligraphic character, with "Sei He Ki" written underneath it. In the third row, the middle pillar bore a single, spiral-like symbol with "Cho Ku Rei" transcribed below it. And finally, in the fourth row, each pillar had a single Sigma letter emblazoned on it.

(A/N: If you guys really want, I can explain the symbology of this in the next chapter. Otherwise, I don't want to waste space with something nobody will read)

Beast Boy gaped at the intricate designs in front of him. It was all a little too much to take in.

Beast Boy gathered his lucidity back and began to think. This place reeked of Raven, yet stopped suddenly. It was possible that she had flown away, but it was hard to imagine she would just get up and fly away in front of this monument, at least not without telling anyone.

The green shape shifter sighed and sat down. He had overheated his brain right now and needed to stop thinking for a moment.

His break was cut short, however, by a loud rustling behind him. He whipped behind, and from out of nowhere, a tall, cloaked figure appeared. The long, hooded black cloak enshrouded any physical features, and the figure exuded a mysterious aura.

Beast Boy was slightly scared. Attempting to swallow his fear, he said, "Who…who are you?"

The figure said nothing. A few seconds went by, and the figure swiftly threw a hand forward. An invisible shockwave erupted from its hand, colliding into Beast Boy, sending him flying backwards. Beast Boy landed a few yards away, dazed and confused.

The figure hovered over to him with cat-like speed, gliding through the air effortlessly until he was only a few inches away from Beast Boy.

"You will not interfere. The course of action must continue unbroken," the figure said with a slightly angry tone. Beast Boy got back onto his feet, assuming a defensive stance.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Beast Boy yelled. The figure replied, "You will not interfere!"

With that, another invisible shockwave shot out from its hand. Beast Boy leapt up, shifting into an eagle as he did so. The figure followed him with agility, sending shockwave after shockwave. Beast Boy continued to ascend, maneuvering through the air currents, until he peaked in height and began plummeting to the ground like a bullet. Moving so fast he was only a blur, Beast Boy outstretched his talons as he neared his target. Before his opponent could react, Beast Boy had slashed the top of the figure's head and was climbing the air again. Roaring with fury, the figure spread his arms out, manipulating the trees around him and sending them flying after Beast Boy. Hitting the green eagle dead-on, the figure watched with pleasure as he plunged from the sky. He hit the ground forcefully, a cloud of dust billowing from where he had landed. Beast Boy recovered slowly, regaining his composure little by little.

The figure merely watched him as Beast Boy attempted to muster his strength. He snapped his fingers and disappeared. Beast Boy looked around, bewildered. The figure silently reappeared behind him, unbeknownst to the green changeling. With incredible precision, the figure administered an immediate karate chop to a pressure point in the neck. Beast Boy fell like a sack of potatoes.

As Beast Boy fell to the ground unconscious, the figure dissipated and then withdrew completely. In Beast Boy's pocket, his communicator began to go off.

"Beast Boy? Beast Boy! Are you there?" Robin yelled.

* * *

"Beast Boy!" Robin yelled into his communicator. Aqualad shook his head and said, "He just had to go and prove himself, didn't he?"

Robin sighed. "That's Beast Boy for you, I guess. Which would probably explain why he's died three times already."

Aqualad raised an eyebrow. "You're kidding, right?"

"Well, we've all died once, except for Raven. Long story," Robin said, reading the skeptical look on Aqualad's face.

"Really? Was that on the same day that the world was destroyed, too?" Aqualad conveyed smugly.

"Actually, yeah," Cyborg interjected. Aqualad rolled his eyes and said, "Well, what I was going to say before was that maybe we should go and help Beast Boy."

Robin nodded. "You're right. Let's go," the Boy Wonder said. Cyborg gaped.

"Wait, what? No apathy? No assurance? No gut instincts? No disregard for the well being of our teammates? What happened to you, Robin?" Cyborg joked.

"Shut up."

* * *

"…And then, after I had gotten rid of my dad, everything went back to normal. Mostly, anyway," Raven explained to Dani, who was still reeling over the fact that a villain could come up with such an awesome name like Black Muse for himself.

"Dude, I am definitely using the name 'Black Muse' for something," Dani said. Raven rolled her eyes. Dani had proven herself to be quite perky.

Raven was about to respond, when the sounds of screaming and burning began to fill her ears. Instinctively, she stopped and looked around for the source. About a hundred yards away was her village, the houses aflame and the people running.

Dani tensed up. "Shit, what's happening?"

Raven scanned the village. "I don't know."

All of a sudden, she heard a deafening, petrifying roar that could only belong to one creature.

"God damnit," Raven muttered under her breath.

* * *

Hello! Ozzy's back! AND WRESTLING IS OVER! THANK BUDDHA!

I actually got to bail out of the season early because my doctor thought I had mono. But I didn't have it anyway, so I got a "Get Out of Jail Free Card" in a way. And I can finally eat again!

And I finally made high honors this quarter. Hella awesome.

And I have an idea I think you guys might like! As some of you know, my super ultimate mega ultra excellent goal in writing is to reach 100,000 words. Since I am nearing that mark, I figured I'd reward my beloved reviewers with a bonus chapter-like thing. And it will be nothing but humor. And, provided ScarletAngel68 helps me like I asked her to (cough cough help me you lazy puta cough cough), it will be hella awesomely awesome.

Okay, time to answer reviews!

eMOTIVE- Dude, you changed your penname! Sweet. Thanks for the review!

Bold Achilles- Heh, inner geek. Dude, that story reminds me of how one time, my mom was going to her friend's house, and her friend's daughter had a guest over. It was Sunday, and somehow the girl asked why my mom wasn't at church, and my mom said something. I forgot. So then, the girl said, "Well, are you Jewish?" And my mom said no, and then the girl was like "Oh good, cause me and my mom hate Jews." What a fucking Nazi! And she was like, five years old at the time. So it was pretty funny Anyway, peace out man.

Snea- Punch Izevm out? But he was a freaking kid, you sadist! Just kidding. Have fun doing stuff.

PrincessCat- Oh yeah, you need to tell me when your story comes out. I love seeing my name mentioned. Oh, and the whole 'reading' thing. Heh. Adios!

Cd lover- Dude, you took that Alice Cooper description straight from a website, didn't you? Don't lie to me!

ScarletAngel68- Ben being Buddhist came from the Dalai Lama, not me. 'Cause I met him. In Tibet. And I had tea with him and Jesus. And then Jimi Hendrix came out from a hole in the ground and I shredded with him. Teehee. Yeah, no CyJinx in this story. Unless Carmen happens to die in a mysterious car crash with Dave, and Cyborg and Jinx find solace in each other. Hmm…

Actually, I don't know where Gizmo and Mammoth are. And no, they're not on their honeymoon in Hawaii, since I think that gay marriage is illegal there. And besides…eww. Black glows are worse than red glows, and if it's red and black, that's the worst possible! As for Robin, look back at a few of the episodes. He's a fucking idiot.

Oh, and Menos's tooth didn't grow back, so why'd you say it did? You're going crazy.

As for Silenoz, he's someone. He's a person who did stuff. Yeah. Anyways, adios!

Well, over and out my minions…ahem, readers.


	25. The Sigma Enigma Part 4

**Poor Twisted Me Chapter 25**

(Holy Crap! Twenty Five Chapters!)

As the houses burned in front of them, the pair could only look on in horror.

Raven motioned to Dani and said, "This is bad news. There's only one terrible monster with that kind of horrible scream."

Dani nodded. "I know, but how could Courtney Love have gotten here?"

Raven did a cartoon-style facepalm. "No, that's not what I meant!"

Dani raised an eyebrow. "You do have to admit, the resemblance between the two voices is uncanny."

Raven groaned and said, "Dani, this really isn't the time for jokes. This is serious."

"I'm sorry. I still love you."

Raven groaned again and rolled her eyes. She just had to be stuck with the joker. "Look," Raven said, "the most dangerous creature in all of Azarath is probably no less than a hundred feet away from us! That's what's causing all this mayhem!"

Dani blinked. "Oh. Whoops."

"Yeah. 'Whoops'," Raven said cynically. "His name is Fenrir, and he's not exactly cuddly. Now, just stay here. I'll try to fight him off."

Dani shook her head disagreeably. "Wait, wait, wait. I think you're forgetting which of us is a ninth-degree blackbelt in Tae Kwon Do."

Raven looked at Dani quizzically. "I thought you were just a blackbelt."

"Nope. Nine fuckin' degrees, baby."

"Well, whatever. Fenrir will slice you into bits even if you have fifty degrees on your blackbelt," Raven retorted.

Dani backed away. "Okay, I'll leave you to get killed if that's what you really want."

Raven was going to say something apologetic, but she decided she didn't have the time as another of Fenrir's bone-chilling roars tore through the sky.

"I'll come back!" Raven yelled as she ran towards the inferno.

"You'd better, or else we're through!" Dani yelled back.

Ignoring her friend, Raven continued to run until she had reached the site of the attack. She was unable to see Fenrir immediately, however.

"Jesus Christ, it's hot in here," Raven muttered to herself.

"What did you expect?" a familiar voice asked from behind her.

'Shit, not again,' Raven thought to herself, knowing whom it was behind her. Still, she could not but turn around anyway. Sure enough, the enigma hovered a few yards behind her.

"Your friend must go," the figure said calmly. Raven's eyes widened.

"No! Leave her out of this! She's done nothing!" Raven yelled with intense fury as the flames engulfing the village roared beside her. The figure stood still.

"Don't hurt her!" Raven yelled again, picking up a burning plank of wood nearby.

The figure surely would have been smirking had a blanket of darkness not been covering his face. "Or what, you'll hit me with that…fish?"

In front of her eyes, the burning plank transformed in front of her eyes into a frozen fish. The figure just laughed.

"Yes! Exactly!" Raven said, chucking the fish at the figure's head, making direct contact. The figure, too busy to notice, was whacked right on the forehead with the frozen fish, knocking him off balance.

"Fuck!" the figure said, in an almost familiar way. Raven flew at him full speed, hoping to catch him by surprise. The figure, to her immediate dismay, caught sight of her and dematerialized before she could hit him. Screeching to halt, she looked around frantically. However, the only thing coming towards her was Fenrir, bounding with amazing agility. Reflexively, she ducked and rolled out the way, Fenrir sailing over her. Off in the distance, she heard an effeminate scream, followed by Dani's voice yelling, "Get your hands off me, you dirty motherfucker!"

Raven froze. "Dani!" she yelled, flying as fast as she could towards the source of the scream. Unfortunately for Raven, Fenrir's cat-like reflexes caught wind of her flight and launched after her. Even going as fast as she could, Fenrir was still gaining. Thinking quickly, Raven abruptly stopped and flew up, where Fenrir could not reach her.

The sound of wings flapping attracted her attention.

Turning around Raven saw Fenrir, with his black bat-like wings flapping after her.

Shit. She forgot he could do that.

* * *

"So, any idea where our resident green buddy?" Aqualad asked. Cyborg rolled his eyes and said, "Of course not, stupid, that's why we're looking for him."

"Sorry, asshole," Aqualad retorted angrily.

"Jerk."

"Bitch."

"Meecrob."

"What the hell is a 'Meecrob'?" Aqualad asked.

Cyborg laughed out loud. "Hah! He doesn't know what a Meecrob is!"

"Cyborg, you don't know what Meecrob is either. You made it up five seconds ago. Now will both of you, please shut up!" Robin yelled.

Cyborg fell silent. For a few moments, anyway.

"Are we there yet?" Cyborg asked in a whiny, childish voice. Robin groaned and said, "Cyborg, I will kill you one day."

"Pfft. I could beat your ass any time," Cyborg retorted. Robin was about to say something clever and witty, but then remembered he lacked the ability to do so.

Aqualad interrupted the argument, saying, "Hey, I think I might know a way we could find BB."

Robin and Cyborg simultaneously turned around, saying, "How?"

"Cyborg, is it possible for you to somehow adjust your scanner so that you can track recent body warmth anomalies or some kind of junk like that?"

Cyborg blinked. "No."

Robin jabbed him in the side with his elbow. "Yes you can, Cyborg."

Cyborg scratched his head sheepishly. "Well, it's no use unless we have a point to start from, where we know Beast Boy was earlier."

Robin glared. "Then we'll find some place."

"How about the Tower? He probably went there after he left," Cyborg said. Robin raised an eyebrow and said, "How do you know that?"

"Cause we live in a universe dominated by a writer who doesn't have the patience to make everything logical," Cyborg muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"I said, because he likes to go there."

Robin leered at Cyborg. "If you say so."

* * *

"_Dude¡este hombre es el vete a la mierda cargado_!" Menos yelled.

(Translation: Dude, this guy is fucking loaded!)

And indeed he was. The home of Brian Warner sat on the eighth floor of the apartment, and pretty much took up the entire eighth floor. With a 42" Plasma screen TV, a couch that could seat twenty, a dining table to match, and a multitude of gasp Rush Limbaugh posters, this guy was definitely putting bread on the table.

Rush Limbaugh. The voice of all the underrepresented white Christian males everywhere.

Brian Warner sat down nervously on the dining table, taking a drag of his cigarette every few seconds. He was rather rotund, which is a really nice way of saying he was a frickin' house, for God's sake. Bumblebee flipped through her notepad, looking over her notes as the guy continued to blow smoke into Starfire's face every so often.

Starfire leered at him, not saying anything for fear of the guy rolling over her and suffocating her.

"So, you say this portal appeared in the middle of your kitchen and took your refrigerator?"

"Maybe these portals aren't all that bad," Speedy whispered in Starfire's ear. "They gave the guy the opportunity to stop eating."

Starfire snickered quietly, replying, "That's not very nice, you know."

Speedy grinned. "I know."

The guy blew a huge cloud of smoke out and in a heavily Southern accent, "Yeah, the fuckin' thing stole my fridge."

Warner motioned over to the two twins. "Hey, could you get those fuckin' Mexicans out of my apartment?"

Bumblebee scowled, unable to conceal her rage.

"For your information, they are Guatemalan, and second of all-" Bumblebee began to say, but was cut off when Brian suddenly fell over onto the table, unconscious. Speedy was behind him.

"Whoops. I seemed to have 'accidentally' poked him with my tranquilizer arrow," Speedy said innocently. Bumblebee groaned and said, "Look, as much as I would have loved to do that, we still need information from him."

"You'll need no information," a voice said from behind the group. They all simultaneously turned around, and saw a dark, mysterious figure whom you should know well enough by now that you need no description for, since I am a lazy little bitch.

Bumblebee paused. "Who are you?"

The figure was silent for a few seconds, then said, "You are the loose ends. You must be exterminated."

Starfire glared. "What does that mean?"

The figure ignored her and merely disappeared. "You are all expendable," a disembodied voice echoed. The group looked around, trying to spot the enigma. It suddenly repapered behind Starfire, kicking her square in the spine. The Tamaran flew forward, tumbling onto Warner's couch.

Starfire jumped back up nimbly, throwing a dozen of starbolts at the mysterious target. The figure dodged them gracefully, until he was hit by an arrow in the back of the head, effectively paralyzing him.

Speedy grinned, twirling his bow around with his fingers. "Robin Hood's got nothin' on me!"

Not even a few seconds after the figure had been hit, he had fully recovered and had administered a blindingly fast blow to Speedy's stomach. The archer grunted and flew back into the wall, dazed.

"How? The effects of that arrow were supposed to last a half-hour!" Speedy said, bewildered.

Bumblebee yelled angrily, shooting a volley of bolts from her B-shaped weapon, all of which hit the figure, yet sailed right through his now intangible form. Más and Menos charged after him full speed, tearing up his carpet in the process. They unfortunately failed to notice, however, the figure's newfound unearthliness, and sped right through him, landing on the opposite side of the room. The figure resumed tangibility, and threw its hand out in Speedy's direction. The archer recovered and ran away from his opponent, taking refuge behind a dining chair. An invisible blast of energy charged at him, splitting the table in two and hitting Speedy full force. Speedy was sent flying, crashing through a window and falling through the open air. Speedy, reacting quickly, jabbed a steel arrow into the side of the building that prevented him from falling.

Starfire growled and attacked the figure with a flurry of starbolts. They made direct contact with the figure, although they barely seemed to daze him. Under the dark hood, a pair of eyes flashed a brilliant, angry, red color. With a prolonged grunt, the figure manipulated the couch underneath Starfire and threw it upward, sandwiching Starfire between the couch and the ceiling. With a blast of red energy from its eyes, the figure glued the couch to the ceiling, trapping Starfire.

While the figure was occupied with Starfire, Bumblebee charged full speed at it, knocking it over. As the figure fell, Bumblebee grabbed a stool nearby and swung it gracefully at her adversary. The stool smashed against the enigma, effectively earning a much enjoyed "Ooof!"

Before Bumblebee could do anything else, the figure began to shimmer, like a hologram. It looked at its flickering hands for a moment, and then sighed.

The enigma disappeared entirely a few seconds after, saying, "Another time."

An arrow with a rope tied to the end shot out from the window and hooked onto a chandelier. Speedy soon followed suite, climbing up the building wall nimbly. A simmering sound could be heard from above the couch, followed by an explosion from inside it as Starfire created an exit for herself. Más and Menos groggily rubbed their heads.

"¿_Quién era_?" Menos said, confused.

"_No sé_," Más replied.

Bumblebee pulled out her communicator. "We'd better inform the other guys about this," she said commandingly. She pressed a red button on the side and waited as it rang.

* * *

Shadowed by the unearthly demon, Raven weaved in between buildings, trying to lose her pursuer. Her attempts were fruitless, however, as Fenrir gained with each passing second, flying with absurd speed and agility. As the creature became nearer, he opened his giant mouth and roared obscenely, shaking the ground beneath him with the force of his scream.

Now the contracts out  
They've put the word about  
I'm coming after you

_It's not the money I make  
It's the thrill of the chase  
And I'm coming after you_

Raven ducked to the side, trying to evade the beast. Fenrir, with his amazing agility, screeched to a halt mid-air, and turned on a dime to continue the chase.

I watch your every move  
Study the things you do  
And the pattern of your ways

_I watch the way you walk  
I hear your telephone talk  
I want to understand the way you think_

Raven dived back down onto the ground, summoning a black protective barrier to shield herself. Fenrir slammed headfirst into the shield, the force of his blow sending Raven skidding backwards and dissipating her shield.

Better watch out, cause I'm the Assassin  
Better watch out, Better watch out  
Assassin

Fenrir roared again and charged after Raven, claws extended and his jaws open. Raven manipulated a large boulder nearby and threw it with all her might at the demonic hound. The boulder made direct contact, swatting Fenrir away like a fly. The beast stopped himself in mid-air, his eyes brimming with anger.

I'm in a cold, cold sweat  
I taste the smell of death  
I know the moment's getting closer

And as you walk to the light  
I feel my hands go tight  
Excitement running through my veins

The creature sailed through the air with ungodly speed. The Azarath was short of breath from her attack, unfortunately, and could not avoid the oncoming attack. With the force of a train, Fenrir slammed headfirst into Raven.

I've got you in my sights  
I've got you dead to rights  
The triggers waiting for my finger

I feel adrenalin rush  
It's just the final touch  
You can kiss your ass goodbye

Stunned from the impact, Raven stumbled around momentarily. Fenrir sat back on his haunches and was about to pounce when a small blur attacked Fenrir. When Raven regained lucidity, she saw Dani assaulting the beast with amazing fluidity. The beast roared and swiped at the girl, confused at this new target. Dani nimbly jumped up and delivered a blindingly fast jump kick to the side of Fenrir's head. The creature stumbled, becoming dazed, and attempted to bite back. Dani merely stepped back and sent a quick jab with her foot at the abomination's temple. Fenrir teetered for a moment, then fell back, unconscious.

Raven just gaped at her friend, amazed.

"How…how did you do that?" Raven asked with bewilderment. Dani smiled and responded, "Part of Tae Kwon Do is learning specific pressure points on the body where you can knock somebody out if you hit them there. I figured it was worth a shot."

Raven was silent. "Teach me sometime, will you?"

"Be glad to."

Dani smiled again. She felt all warm and fuzzy inside.

Raven looked around. "Did you do the same to the hooded person?"

Dani nodded. "Guy was pissing me off big time."

Not a moment too soon, a deafening explosion erupted from behind them, in the direction where they had originally come from. A spherical plume of energy rose above the ground, leveling off for a second, then dissipating back to the ground. With great speed, the hooded enigma swooped right up to them and released a blast of energy from his hand at Dani, throwing her to the ground and knocking her unconscious. Before Raven could react, the figure had grabbed her by her collar, hoisted her up, and slammed her into the wall of a nearby building. The figure was brimming with hatred.

"You! Why must you always be a thorn in my side! Why must you be the bane of my existence! Why must you ruin everything I do! Why?"

Raven would have responded, had the figure not been holding her in such a way that impeded any breathing.

The figure roared and slammed her into the wall again. "Why? WHY?"

Raven gasped, her lungs screaming for oxygen. Her face was beginning to turn blue.

The enigma roared again, and threw her to the ground. Raven coughed and sputtered, her lungs filling back up with oxygen.

The figure kicked Raven in the side of the head, throwing her to her back. With one fluid motion, the mysterious creature pinned Raven underneath his foot, a black and leathery boot squeezing her chest.

"We had some good times Raven. Let's not end it like this."

It was then that it hit Raven. Her memories, the figure, the mysterious illusion she was in- it all fit.

With a quick motion of her hand, Raven threw a bolt of black energy at the figure's head. The figure reared its head back and roared in pain. In slow motion, Raven could see the hood slowly fall down from the head from the force of the attack.

Izevm.

With the exception of large bags under his eyes and the new gash across his face from Raven's attack, Izevm was unchanged.

Raven jumped up and delivered a quick jump-kick to Izevm's chest, knocking him backwards. Raven summoned a dark ball of energy in her hand and stood at point blank range of Izevm's face.

"I want an explanation. Now," Raven said with surprising tranquility. Izevm sighed, and began to talk.

"When Trigon was defeated and everything came back to normal, I was brought back to life, among all the other people Trigon killed. But for some reason, I felt a newfound power inside of me…not power to level buildings or to raise mountains, but merely an ardent lucidity, clarity more powerful than any spell. But instead of the blind gullibility that consumed me before, I was filled with only one desire: revenge. And you happened to be the prime cause for all of my suffering. So, I donned an unseen identity, and went to work.

"The first thing I did was to create this illusion you see before you. I combined the memories of both you and me into this place. Not a real place, not an illusion…merely a manifestation of our recollections. An alternate dimension, if you will. All that was left was the find a way to lure you into this manifestation."

"So I created a few portals strategically placed around Jump City. And, eventually you found one. The only problem was that other people began to notice these. With no other option, I astrally projected myself to those portals and took care of anyone who had encountered these portals."

Raven stared. "You killed them?"

Izevm chuckled. "No. I will not condescend myself to killing anymore. When I died, I finally understood that."

Raven rolled her eyes, not buying it. But for some odd reason, she had a gut feeling he wasn't lying.

"I merely rendered them unconscious, knowing that they would wake up and assume it was only a dream. I was fighting some of your friends, actually, when your little friend attacked."

"Get on with the story," Raven said.

"Fine. Have it your way. As it turns out, your friend Dani ended up going inside one of the portals. She was the only one. But anyway, the problem with the portals was that they worked both ways. So, a few random, obscure objects ended up appearing on Earth. Which nearly ruined the whole thing, because if the press reported it en masse, people would begin to wonder, and my plan would be shot. Fortunately, there was only one story on it."

Raven scowled at him. "So you went through all that trouble just to kill me?"

"Heavens, no. I merely wanted you to take my perspective. Walk a mile in my shoes, look through my eyes, however you want to put."

Raven raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Izevm sneered. "Raven, did you actually think I went around killing people cause I was pure evil?"

Raven paused.

Izevm snorted. "Typical. You heroes think that anyone who does something bad is pure evil and can never do good things. I was insane, Raven. Ever since I met your team, my mental health has been slowly decomposing. I didn't do what I did out of pure evil, I did it because I had no idea what I was doing, no idea it was wrong…"

Raven looked at him suspiciously. "And now you suddenly realize it? Just like magic, you're not insane anymore?"

"I told you before. When I came back, I was overcome with a new sanity, a new perspicuity."

Raven stared at him. "Forget it. Get on with the story."

"Fine. Anyway, I wanted to put you in my shoes, so to speak, by making you think you were going crazy. And you were, for a little while."

Raven was silent.

Izevm smiled. "What are you going to do to me, Raven?"

Raven was uncertain. She certainly couldn't kill him; enough bad memories were haunting her at night. She couldn't leave him here, as she was afraid he would turn on her. And that still left the matter of how she would get Dani back home…

Then, it happened.

A furious roar behind them. The sound of feet sprinting towards them. Frenzied growling. It all melded into one.

Raven whipped around, and in slow motion, she saw Fenrir pounce at her, claws only a foot away. Then like that, the beast was gone. With a bolt of dark energy from his finger, Izevm deterred the attack, sending Fenrir off to the side. Raven jumped back reflexively. She watched as Fenrir roared again and retaliated, charging Izevm and throwing him to his back. With one grotesque motion, Fenrir sliced Izevm, his claws leaving terrible gashes in Izevm's chest and stomach. Izevm yelled in pain, blood flowing madly from his wounds as his body fell limp. Fenrir turned around, growling, towards Raven. Raven stepped back, momentarily stunned after the recent display of carnage. With a roar and a leap, Fenrir was only seconds away from inflicting the same butchery on Raven as he did Izevm.

Raven closed her eyes, bracing for impact. And then…nothing.

She opened her eyes, and saw Fenrir at her feet, dead, with a dagger in his back. Izevm was leaning upright, panting.

Izevm had just saved her life.

And then it dawned on Raven. Izevm was never evil. He was only misguided.

In his final breath, Izevm muttered, "I'm sorry…Raven."

And like that, he was gone.

Raven fell to her knees and did something she hadn't done in a long time. She cried.

* * *

After Izevm's death, the artificial dimension began to crumble. Raven stood up, beginning to panic. In one swift flash, her vision became white. The bodies around her disappeared, and she felt herself become engulfed in the brilliance.

* * *

"Hello?" a child's voice echoed. Raven slowly felt herself return to reality, her surroundings becoming visible. She was in the park. A child hovered above her, staring intently.

Raven grabbed her forehead. Inter-dimensional travel could be a real strain on your head.

Dani lay beside her, still unconscious. With the child looking on, Raven crawled over to her friend and shook her lightly. Dani grunted and said, "Five more minutes."

Raven shook slightly harder. Dani woke up, looking confused.

"Ow, my head…I must have gotten so wasted last night…"

Raven shook her head, saying, "No, Dani, we're back home."

Dani looked around her. "Oh. Sweet."

Raven looked at her friend. "Can you find your way home from here?"

Dani nodded and said, "Yeah, my house is only a few blocks from here."

Raven stood up, Dani following suite. "Do you think you could walk back home on your own? I really, really need some time to myself."

Dani nodded. "Sure. I understand."

The two friends embraced. As Dani began to walk away, she yelled, "Hey!"

Raven turned around.

"Come visit me sometime, 'kay?"

Raven smiled. "Will do."

Dani grinned and began to walk away.

Raven's smile disappeared quickly. As she sat down to think, she saw a body in front of her. A green body. Beast Boy!

She ran over to her green changeling and saw that he was unconscious. Sighing, she grabbed his arm and supported his weight with her shoulders. She began to fly back to the Tower, the cataleptic Beast Boy in her arms.

* * *

_Later that night_

Raven sat on the roof of Titans Tower, her legs dangling over the edge. She sighed. It had been a long day.

"Raven?" a familiar voice called out from behind her. She turned around, and saw Beast Boy standing in the doorway. He walked over to her and sat down next to her.

"So, Izevm gave his life for yours?" Beast Boy said. Raven nodded solemnly. "When I told the team, they seemed pretty shocked about it. Reasonably so, I guess."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Beast Boy asked, placing a consoling arm around her. Raven leaned her head against Beast Boy's shoulder and said, "Sure. I guess it couldn't hurt."

Raven sighed. And said, "I always thought that there was only good and evil. But so many things fall into the gray area in between, it's mind boggling."

Beast Boy nodded. Raven continued, "I mean, was Izevm evil because of all the destruction he caused? Or was it because he couldn't help it? Was he good because he saved my life? Or does that one good deed not make up for all the other evils he's done?"

"Don't think about it too much. Your brain will explode," Beast Boy joked. Raven gave him a half-smile.

A few moments passed on that roof before Raven broke the silence.

"Beast Boy?"

"Mm?"

"I want you to promise me something."

Beast Boy looked at her. "What's that?"

Raven closed her eyes momentarily. "I want you to promise you'll never leave me."

The air was quiet for a moment.

"I promise."

Raven smiled and gave Beast Boy a soft kiss on his cheek.

"Thank you."


End file.
